They did, but things were different. Obvious main difference being that we didn't have centralised store apps with launchers that already do the functions you need: download, setup, updates, news, etc. (well Steam does, with workshop integration for mods and everything)

Nowadays people see launchers as an extra unnecessary step, usually requiring another account for no good reason, and, importantly, a data harvesting tool. That last one is the reason I usually see people hating a launcher. The other issue is I've seen a lot of complaints about is launchers simply breaking stuff for some people and not letting them play their game (especially on Linux).

(Generic summary, not specific to Owlcat here)