Steam in itself has DRM, but people are still free to choose that version if they want.
The thing about Steamworks is that it locks the game to the Steam service, necessitating the developers to produce and maintain two separate versions if there is to also be a DRM-free edition of the game. As I said, that's not impossible, but I'm surprised if this is the case and I'd be interested to hear more details about how Larian will be handling this split.
But don't worry, the game will not rely on anything from steam or different if you dont want it too.
Yes, I'm aware, though this does open up concerns about fragmentation of the multiplayer community. Again, interested in hearing more details about how D:OS and DC will be handling this.
