No it doesn’t. It’s just a digital use license like in any other store. Here’s the relevant part from their User agreemet
We give you and other GOG users the personal right (known legally as a ‘license’) to use GOG services and to download, access and/or stream (depending on the content) and use GOG content
That is legally the same as any other store out there.
So why does GoG make a big fuss about that? Well, it’s mostly a PR stunt, but there is some truth to it. Games sold on GoG are, majorly, DRM-free (although not 100% of them, but close to it), this means that you can backup your game installer and install it and play it in the distant future even if GoG is no more. The reason why this is mostly a PR stunt is that you can do the same with most games from other stores as well, except you backup the game folder instead of the installer, because (and this is the part I think people always miss) if a game is on Gog and any other store it’s almost assuredly DRM free in ALL stores.
Don’t get me wrong, GoG is great and their policy on DRM is something that I think other companies should really imitate. But it’s not the be all and end all that some people make it out to be, and to me personally when I have to decide where to invest my money my choices are between a company that has a relatively decent DRM policy but doesn’t care for me as a customer, and a company that has literally spent millions making my gaming experience as a Linux user better, it’s a no contest. If I was on Windows I might consider buying more stuff from GoG because of their DRM policy, but being able to easily play games on Linux is more important for me than DRM.
They also do restoration on old games, to make them run fine on todays OS and hardware. Recent example of me: Outcast A new beginning. guess i remembered wrong.
What? How is a game from 2024 old? Also how is GoG involved in that at all?
Edit: I’ve been reading on the story of that game, and I think I know what you meant.
While Outcast: a new beginning is a new game, you probably meant the OG outcast game, which is from 1999. There was a 4 year window where the original game was only available on GoG because they patched a community mod into it. But in 2014 1.1 version was released for Steam with some more improvements, and in 2017 the game was remade. GoG doesn’t seem to have been involved in either of those, only on the original 2010 re-release including the community mod as a built-in.
Edit: It’s amazing, GoG PR is so good that they get credit for removing DRMs from games they didn’t (and are DRM free elsewhere), being anti-DRM (while allowing DRM content and even producing some by some standards), and now they take credit for remakes and rebuilds they were not even involved in. I like GoG, but people give them way too much credit and it gets annoying.
Since the beginning of app stores and the release of Windows 8, Valve have seen the writing on the wall (see Apple v. Epic later) and realized they needed their own platform. It’s all about Steam OS.
The interests of Linux users and Valve merely coincide.
As for me, with a 99% single player games library, the most important thing is no mandatory launcher and no updates. Click, boom, I’m in the game.
So using GOG when possible.
The interests of Linux users and Valve merely coincide.
I’m not naive, I don’t think that Valve is doing anything out of the goodness of their heart. But they’re investing on something I care about, so me giving them money is an indirect way to invest in that.
As for me, with a 99% single player games library, the most important thing is no mandatory launcher and no updates. Click, boom, I’m in the game.
So using GOG when possible.
Mostly agree (except I don’t mind updates, you can always play without updating if you want to), and the fact that that’s my experience with Steam is a big part of why I buy from them. I can go from not owning a game to play it with just a few controller buttons, whereas with GoG I would have to:
Plug a mouse and keyboard to my gaming rig
Install a browser on that machine
Navigate to the website and download the installer
Figure out a good wine version to use and create a new profile for the game
Install any needed wine tricks to that profile
Manually create a shortcut for that game using that wine profile
Add the shortcut to some third party UI to be able to navigate to it with a controller
So yeah, the whole “click, I’m in the game” only works on Windows, which is why I said I can understand Windows users preferring GoG.
I should have been clearer, I don’t mind the initial configuration, it’s the subsequent launches I want to be instant. That’s the feature I find most excellent on the Steam Deck: instant resume. You pick up your console because you have 15mn to kill and actually game 15mn.
This has not been my experience with Steam on desktop however. I don’t game everyday, and not all my games were on Steam (when I was still using it semi regularly), and I would invariably wait for Steam to update, followed by the various utilities and the games. And if it was a new machine, having to remember where to disable the damn ad popup …
With a fast Internet and playing often I’m sure it’s way less of an issue.
Oh and when I had network problems and it would take a long time before going in offline mode every time.
you can always play without updating if you want to
Can you? I never saw a straightforward way to do this.
I still have a partition running Windows for modded Skyrim, and the cardinal rule is never ever run it from Steam in case there’s been an update, which would mess up the modlist.
My other issue is ideological: I don’t think they do anything unethical but I don’t like having this private company’s always online closed source software running in the background on my computer.
Clearly people are happy with Steam, and as far as companies go it’s an okay one. I won’t argue with the AIO buying, installing, and the myriad of features.
However installing on Linux really isn’t that hard anymore.
Install the GoG (or Epic for the free stuff) game from Heroic Launcher
Play.*
Heroic is a better experience for installing, but I prefer Lutris, paired with lutris-gamepad-ui when not using keyboard and mouse. I made a little script to launch it when I turn on my controller, and turn off the controller when I quit. I’m in a game in a few seconds, even if I didn’t play in a month - when bluetooth doesn’t for some reason take 10s to connect
Even if some tinkering was needed, for a game I play often I would have spend less time waiting compared to using Steam.
I get your point, but here’s the thing, GoG has never given a cent to Lutris, Wine or Heroic, I know about those and the many others that came before such as PlayOnLinux. But those are not useful thanks to GoG, they’re useful despite it. If I have to use an open source tool to “emulate” a game, and another one to organize and manage my library, I’ll give those guys money and pirate the games and get the same experience a lot cheaper. Because, like Gabe Newell said, piracy is a service problem.
you can always play without updating if you want to
Can you? I never saw a straightforward way to do this.
I seem to remember a pop-up asking you whether you want to play without updating. Also I remember being able to stop a specific game from being updated by selecting the version to use in the settings, of course not all games use this, but the ones that accept mods usually do. I remember I had my CK2 pinned for a while because of mods.
I don’t think they do anything unethical but I don’t like having this private company’s always online closed source software running in the background on my computer.
I get that, but I only open Steam when I’m going to play something, so it’s not always online running in the background, and the vast majority of games I play are closed source so that’s a moot point
one major note about GoG’s drm freeness, most games on GoG are DRM free on Steam as well, sometimes with some small caveats though, such as the need to patch some of them, because the Steam builds of the games expect Steam to be there stuff like the achivements API and won’t handle gracefully a failure to use the API, but thats pretty easy to do most of the time and AFAIK is not an intentional anti piracy tactic
No it doesn’t. It’s just a digital use license like in any other store. Here’s the relevant part from their User agreemet
That is legally the same as any other store out there.
So why does GoG make a big fuss about that? Well, it’s mostly a PR stunt, but there is some truth to it. Games sold on GoG are, majorly, DRM-free (although not 100% of them, but close to it), this means that you can backup your game installer and install it and play it in the distant future even if GoG is no more. The reason why this is mostly a PR stunt is that you can do the same with most games from other stores as well, except you backup the game folder instead of the installer, because (and this is the part I think people always miss) if a game is on Gog and any other store it’s almost assuredly DRM free in ALL stores.
Don’t get me wrong, GoG is great and their policy on DRM is something that I think other companies should really imitate. But it’s not the be all and end all that some people make it out to be, and to me personally when I have to decide where to invest my money my choices are between a company that has a relatively decent DRM policy but doesn’t care for me as a customer, and a company that has literally spent millions making my gaming experience as a Linux user better, it’s a no contest. If I was on Windows I might consider buying more stuff from GoG because of their DRM policy, but being able to easily play games on Linux is more important for me than DRM.
They also do restoration on old games, to make them run fine on todays OS and hardware.
Recent example of me: Outcast A new beginning.guess i remembered wrong.What? How is a game from 2024 old? Also how is GoG involved in that at all?
Edit: I’ve been reading on the story of that game, and I think I know what you meant.
While Outcast: a new beginning is a new game, you probably meant the OG outcast game, which is from 1999. There was a 4 year window where the original game was only available on GoG because they patched a community mod into it. But in 2014 1.1 version was released for Steam with some more improvements, and in 2017 the game was remade. GoG doesn’t seem to have been involved in either of those, only on the original 2010 re-release including the community mod as a built-in.
Edit: It’s amazing, GoG PR is so good that they get credit for removing DRMs from games they didn’t (and are DRM free elsewhere), being anti-DRM (while allowing DRM content and even producing some by some standards), and now they take credit for remakes and rebuilds they were not even involved in. I like GoG, but people give them way too much credit and it gets annoying.
I meant Second Contact, mixed them up.
Second contact is the 2017 remake of the game I mentioned, GoG was not involved in that.
Hey, great comment. You touched on everything, and did it with nuance.
Since the beginning of app stores and the release of Windows 8, Valve have seen the writing on the wall (see Apple v. Epic later) and realized they needed their own platform. It’s all about Steam OS.
The interests of Linux users and Valve merely coincide.
As for me, with a 99% single player games library, the most important thing is no mandatory launcher and no updates. Click, boom, I’m in the game.
So using GOG when possible.
I’m not naive, I don’t think that Valve is doing anything out of the goodness of their heart. But they’re investing on something I care about, so me giving them money is an indirect way to invest in that.
Mostly agree (except I don’t mind updates, you can always play without updating if you want to), and the fact that that’s my experience with Steam is a big part of why I buy from them. I can go from not owning a game to play it with just a few controller buttons, whereas with GoG I would have to:
So yeah, the whole “click, I’m in the game” only works on Windows, which is why I said I can understand Windows users preferring GoG.
I should have been clearer, I don’t mind the initial configuration, it’s the subsequent launches I want to be instant. That’s the feature I find most excellent on the Steam Deck: instant resume. You pick up your console because you have 15mn to kill and actually game 15mn.
This has not been my experience with Steam on desktop however. I don’t game everyday, and not all my games were on Steam (when I was still using it semi regularly), and I would invariably wait for Steam to update, followed by the various utilities and the games. And if it was a new machine, having to remember where to disable the damn ad popup …
With a fast Internet and playing often I’m sure it’s way less of an issue.
Oh and when I had network problems and it would take a long time before going in offline mode every time.
Can you? I never saw a straightforward way to do this.
I still have a partition running Windows for modded Skyrim, and the cardinal rule is never ever run it from Steam in case there’s been an update, which would mess up the modlist.
My other issue is ideological: I don’t think they do anything unethical but I don’t like having this private company’s always online closed source software running in the background on my computer.
Clearly people are happy with Steam, and as far as companies go it’s an okay one. I won’t argue with the AIO buying, installing, and the myriad of features.
However installing on Linux really isn’t that hard anymore.
Heroic is a better experience for installing, but I prefer Lutris, paired with lutris-gamepad-ui when not using keyboard and mouse. I made a little script to launch it when I turn on my controller, and turn off the controller when I quit. I’m in a game in a few seconds, even if I didn’t play in a month - when bluetooth doesn’t for some reason take 10s to connect
Even if some tinkering was needed, for a game I play often I would have spend less time waiting compared to using Steam.
*conditions may apply
I get your point, but here’s the thing, GoG has never given a cent to Lutris, Wine or Heroic, I know about those and the many others that came before such as PlayOnLinux. But those are not useful thanks to GoG, they’re useful despite it. If I have to use an open source tool to “emulate” a game, and another one to organize and manage my library, I’ll give those guys money and pirate the games and get the same experience a lot cheaper. Because, like Gabe Newell said, piracy is a service problem.
I seem to remember a pop-up asking you whether you want to play without updating. Also I remember being able to stop a specific game from being updated by selecting the version to use in the settings, of course not all games use this, but the ones that accept mods usually do. I remember I had my CK2 pinned for a while because of mods.
I get that, but I only open Steam when I’m going to play something, so it’s not always online running in the background, and the vast majority of games I play are closed source so that’s a moot point
one major note about GoG’s drm freeness, most games on GoG are DRM free on Steam as well, sometimes with some small caveats though, such as the need to patch some of them, because the Steam builds of the games expect Steam to be there stuff like the achivements API and won’t handle gracefully a failure to use the API, but thats pretty easy to do most of the time and AFAIK is not an intentional anti piracy tactic