BKGaming: Expected to find people freaking out about this and wasn't disappointed. GOGers will be GOGers. However, we honestly should be supporting this. Streaming is not inherently bad, and opens up ways to play on other devices when one is away from their PC. If streaming is going to be a thing, which is most certainly always will be.... we would be much better off if a streaming service existed to complement owned games like this partnership does between GOG and Amazon where you can both stream and get the game files rather then streaming being the only option or a subscription service where you have nothing like every other company is trying to move towards.
Streaming is the literal plague of DRM Free, most anti consumer practice in the industry. No thank, if i wanted to Stream games i would have bought the games i own here on my steam account. The whole purpose of people buying from gog is to have a consumer friendly alternative to Steam, plain and simple.
lixicus: Galaxy is not optional, not for all games, there are alot of games that can't be opened without it even tough it is in theory offline installed ...
eric5h5: "A lot"? Really? Name two.
Crysis Warhead 32 bit version, build "1.1.1.711 (gog-4)" - still had the 'chicken' DRM active. But it was removed from GOG 'for technical reasons'. Now only the 64- bit version is available.
Cult of the Lamb - game froze during the first sermon, rendering further progress impossible, unless one plays the game through Galaxy and is online. The game was therefore fully DRMed, but that was fixed in the Relics of the old Faith update, Apr.2023
Fishing: North Atlantic - Scallops Expansion. - does not work without Galaxy. In other words: this DLC is COMPLETELY DRM-ED!
DRM was removed by a patch in 01/2024
HITMAN - Game of The Year Edition - ALL the progression (completed challanges, unlocks like weapons, disguises, gadgets and starting points) is only stored online. Also, like the game page admits, some single-player missions (escalation, elusive target) and user created content require an always online connection. But the game was removed from GOG, following protests from the community.
Hybrid Wars - one of three characters for single-player was only available through online registration. The game was removed from GOG. Of course the game is still available for those that bought it. But at least it isn't sold any longer.
Nex Machina required Galaxy to save your highscore, which unlocks further levels. That meant those levels stayed locked if you didn't use Galaxy! But it was fixed. Don't know when the fix occurred, but as of March 2021 it is DRM-free for single player again.
Necrobarista - not DRM, but it was a bug: Neverending loading screen between episodes, that only goes away if Galaxy is running. But it was fixed with the October 2021 patch. The lead programmer took care of it personally.
Northgard - solo mode required Galaxy. But according to GOG and the devs, that was a bug and as of 02.04.2021 the solo mode is DRM-free again. ... However, it was still not possible to select opponents for skirmishes in offline mode. You need to be online to select an opponent for offline skirmish mode. But as of 05.06.2022 solo mode now doesn't require Galaxy to select opponents anymore. Northgard is finally DRM-free again.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts - had spyware (arguably not DRM. You decide.): "Easy Anti Cheat" spyware was installed with the game, which is especially ridiculous, since the game doesn't even have multiplayer, according to it's page. However, it was removed in patch 1.08 (
https://www.gog.com/forum/sniper_ghost_warrior_series/sniper_ghost_warrior_contracts_changelog/post4)
Starsand - Depended on Galaxy, but this was fixed.
Sudocats - the 'Random Puzzle' game mode required Galaxy. Without Galaxy, the game crashed. Seems to have been a bug that was fixed.
Tempest - crashed when started without Galaxy. Fixed in update 1.7.5
Wasteland 3 The pre-order goods required online verification, but that was patched out in patch 1.3
lixicus: Galaxy is not optional, not for all games, there are alot of games that can't be opened without it even tough it is in theory offline installed ...
eric5h5: "A lot"? Really? Name two.
GWENT - microtransactions are the sole reason for this game to exist. So of course it needs DRM, because otherwise the purchases couldn't be related to an account. A micro-transaction driven game on GOG was quite a shock at the time. By now almost everyone has gotten used to it and the game set a precedent.
Dishonorable mention: Thronebreaker While neither a multiplayer game nor itself DRM-ed, buying Thronebreaker will also add the above mentioned Gwent to your account, if you want or not. Also it adds some DRM-ed bonus content to Gwent.
List of games that require GOG Galaxy for multiplayer, if there is more (like a third party account), it will be mentioned in the description. Please note, that GOG will NOT warn on the game page about the Galaxy requirement in all cases. Sometimes they 'forget' that warning.
8-Bit-Armies and Hordes
A Game of Thrones: The Board Game - local multiplayer is not supported and online play requires an asmodee.net account
Absolver
Age of Wonders 3: All modes except Hotseat require a unique CD key, which will be located in your game shelf, and an on-line account with Triumph Studios.
Alien Versus Predator Classic 2000
Ancestors Legacy
Aragami
Ashes of the Singularity
Baseball Stars 2
Battletech: third party. you do need a Paradox Account to challenge other players in 1v1 multiplayer matches and to redeem unlock codes for Kickstarter Backer or Pre-Order DLC.
Battlezone 98 Redux:
Carcassonne - Tiles & Tactics: third party account required for online multiplayer.
Craft The World + DLCs
Deathtrap
Descent Underground
Double Dragon Trilogy
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
Dying Light
Garou: Mark of the Wolves
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition
Gauntlet™ Slayer Edition - Lilith the Necromancer Pack
Gremlins Inc.
Homeworld® Remastered Collection
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak
Iron Harvest
Master of Orion 2016
Metal Slug, 2, X and 3
NecroLand: Undead Corps - online battle royale...
No Man's Sky:
Northgard
Offworld Trading Company
Phantom Doctrine
Rise of the Triad (2013)
Roboquest
Serious Sam's Bogus Detour
Shadow Warrior 2
Shock Troopers
Shock Troopers: 2nd. Squad
STAR WARS™ Battlefront™ II (Classic, 2005) - Also has a Galaxy-free multi-player version (classic installer)
Streets of Rage 4
Stronghold Crusader 2
Synthetic Legion Rising
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XIII GALAXY EDITION
The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match Final Edition (unverified)
The Last Blade
Tooth and Tail
Trine 3: The Artifacts of Power
Twinkle Star Sprites
Vikings-Wolves of Midgard
Warhammer 40000 Battlesector (either Galaxy or Slitherine account required for multiplayer)
Wingspan
Witcher Adventure Game, The
Worms W.M.D