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General discussionGOG 2022 update #5: about the games, we can play with others(251 posts)(251 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted October 20, 2022
Hello again! In this GOG 2022 update, we want to talk about online games and their place on GOG. Many great titles designed to be played with friends are not available here, and we want to change that. For us, it is crucial that we explain our thoughts on introducing more online games and better understand how you feel about it.

GOG was founded as a place to preserve games and make them last forever. We believe in freedom of choice and are committed to developing GOG as a gamer-first platform where you can collect and play the games you love – from all-time classics all the way to modern hits.

For the last 14 years, we’ve built a catalog for various tastes: for those who want to (re)discover classics, the fans of CD PROJEKT RED games, for people who love unique indies and exceptional single-player hits. We’ve also added GWENT: The Witcher Card Game to scratch that itch for multiplayer online games. Introducing more online-only games on GOG will help us cater to the needs of our growing audience, who are seeking a broader range of games, which will also allow us to continue our efforts to make games last forever.

Many of you already enjoy playing online titles, while some might question “since online-only games require an internet connection, how is this DRM-free?”. It is not – online-only games that are designed to be played with others are a separate category of games.

Rest assured this will not influence our DRM-free approach. GOG will remain the best platform for single-player DRM-free gaming, with a dedicated approach to classics and game preservation – something that’s at the very core of who we are.

Going forward, online-only multiplayer games will be marked as such on the game page – it’s up to you to decide whether you want to play them.

We’re happy and proud of the value we are creating for you to enjoy single-player games on GOG. We believe we can also bring new, unique value to those of you seeking online-only experiences. We’re eager to listen to your feedback on that in the comments.
Posted October 20, 2022
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This sounds like a convoluted way to just re-release Hitman without modifications.
Posted October 20, 2022
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my name is grompy catte: I don't have a problem with actual multiplayer-only games being here and requiring a connection - but I am wary this is a back door to excuse things like the Hitman 2016 online requirement. That is not a multi-player game and there is no justification for it requiring a connection.
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huppumies: This sounds like a convoluted way to just re-release Hitman without modifications.
We're talking exclusively about fully online-only titles, such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory that was released today.
Post edited October 20, 2022 by Clownski_
Posted October 20, 2022
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pippo-san: Multiplayer games are in a continuous evolution, so you'll have to adapt your refound policy for microtransactions and free to play games, if they will ever land here.
They already have a human-exploiting microtransaction-fueled online-only title here in the name of Gwent. They don't care if people are harmed or not by psychological manipulation.
Posted October 20, 2022
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huppumies: This sounds like a convoluted way to just re-release Hitman without modifications.
You are not the only one who thought about that, but I'm sure they won't do that again: most of the locked features were single player ones, only user created contracts would have required online authentication (for obvious reasons).

Beside of that I miss the game here :(
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mqstout: They already have a human-exploiting microtransaction-fueled online-only title here in the name of Gwent. They don't care if people are harmed or not by psychological manipulation.
Because they manage microtransactions with the game here?
I thought that GOG was only a mirror for the game, never played it
Post edited October 20, 2022 by pippo-san
Posted October 20, 2022
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So another blow to the DRM-free concept. As always since at least 2014, if not since 2012, in business and growth vs. principles on GOG, principles always lose.

Yes, GOG never said it was DRM-free for multiplayer. Yes, multiplayer components of even some of the first batch of GOG games had DRM. But until Gwent there was no fully DRM-ed game here. Now you're saying there will be an entire category of them. That's not right. Not that anything on this slippery slope ever was, but that doesn't mean I won't keep expressing my opposition to it.
If GOG's approach is that singleplayer must be DRM free (though even your definition of that slipped, as you clearly stated) and GOG games must be DRM free, then if a game has both singleplayer and multiplayer there may be a client or DRM requirement for the multiplayer portion, but games that do not have singleplayer should only be added here if they allow players to host servers, to at least retain a DRM-free (and client-free, same thing) component.
Posted October 20, 2022
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It is possible to have DRM-free online-only games. The real definition of DRM-free is that the game will continue to function after the developer and publisher have gone out of business or dropped support.

For single-player games, GOG's requirement that the game function without an Internet connection is a good approximation to this, since if the game can't communicate with the publisher, it will clearly function once the publisher is gone. But functioning without an Internet connection is not strictly required for a game to be DRM-free. All that is required is that it function without the publisher or support.

A DRM-free online game is one that allows LAN play or the hosting of private servers, so that it can continue to function once the publisher has dropped support.

I am concerned that GOG is going to use its claim that "online-only games cannon be DRM-free" to justify selling DRM-encumbered games. In reality, DRM-free online-only games can exist, and GOG could restrict itself to selling only those.
Post edited October 20, 2022 by ScarletEmerald
Posted October 20, 2022
This sounds interesting. Since GOG's goal is to be a place to help games last forever, I belive it would be a good idea to try and work with the developers of online-only games to allow the players themselves to host their own servers, thus making sure the game is still playable even if the official servers are taken offline, ensuring the game truly lasts forever.
This would also create an incentive for other people to buy these games on GOG, since there is no shortage of players who wish they could host their own servers and communities, to not have to rely on official servers only. Much of the fun of online games has always been custom servers, and we're seeing less and less of that nowdays.

However, I understand that not only convincing devs to allow custom servers, but also updating the game to have this capability is a great undertaking, it's not as simple as just shipping an old game with DosBox to ensure it works on modern machines, so I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up not happening.

As long as online-only games are marked as such, and single-player games continue to be made DRM-free, I don't see this as a problem. If they keep doing what they did with skyrim, making sure everything about the game is made DRM-free, then I'm happy.
Posted October 20, 2022
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I'm not a fan of multiplayer ONLY games, but I do know that GOG desperately needs new users to be able to negotiate with big publishers to release more and more titles, and what modern audiences want are multiplayer games, so if it'll benefit everyone I'm all for it.

But I honestly wouldn't want to see multiplayer games with aggressive microtransactions on GOG, like Fortnite.
I think the real litmus test will be to see exactly what games GOG plans to bring to the platform, only then we'll really have an idea of what they have in mind.

PS: Now, however, you have no more excuses for not releasing all the Dark Souls and while you're at it Elden Ring as well ;) ;) ;)
Post edited October 20, 2022 by Alexim
Posted October 20, 2022
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Cavalary: [...] games that do not have singleplayer should only be added here if they allow players to host servers, to at least retain a DRM-free (and client-free, same thing) component.
That is exactly the case with Wolfenstein: ET we've released today. GALAXY isn't required to run it, all you need is the game and a working internet connection.
Post edited October 20, 2022 by Clownski_
Posted October 20, 2022
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huppumies: This sounds like a convoluted way to just re-release Hitman without modifications.
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Clownski_: We're talking exclusively about fully online-only titles, such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory that was released today.
I was about to make a post asking intent since I didn't really get one from the post but this clears things up for me. Thanks.
Posted October 20, 2022
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Alexim: PS: Now, however, you have no more excuses for not releasing all the Dark Souls and while you're at it Elden Ring as well ;) ;) ;)
Dang it Alexim, I can already feel GOG's cold sweat due to the pressure lol. With that in mind, it'd be great to see those games here.
Posted October 20, 2022
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huppumies: This sounds like a convoluted way to just re-release Hitman without modifications.
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Clownski_: We're talking exclusively about fully online-only titles, such as Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory that was released today.
The Hitman reboot series is more-or-less fully online-only, it just isn't multiplayer. I'm still suspicious, but only time-will tell. GOG burned a tremendous amount of trust during that debacle.

Having looked at the Wolfenstein page, I think the warning that it's online only could stand to be further up the page. Given GOG's history as a DRM-free-only store, any warning that something isn't DRM-free needs to be front and centre and completely unmissable.
Post edited October 20, 2022 by my name is grompy catte
Posted October 20, 2022
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Cavalary: [...] games that do not have singleplayer should only be added here if they allow players to host servers, to at least retain a DRM-free (and client-free, same thing) component.
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Clownski_: That is exactly the case with Wolfenstein: ET we've released today. Galaxy isn't required to run it, all you need is the game and a working internet connection.
You guys did something similar with the AvP stress test right? Hey how did it turn out?
I remember it even though that was long ago.
Posted October 20, 2022
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I have no problem with that.

Options, and the possibility to choose, are always good.

But please: make it VERY CLEAR on the games' pages, if a game requires an online connection to be played/enjoyed.

I don't mind others' having the ability to buy and play "online (only) games" - I just don't want to be "mislead" into buying such a game, only because the game's page may not be very clear in regard to that requirement.
Posted October 20, 2022
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BreOl72: But please: make it VERY CLEAR on the games' pages, if a game requires an online connection to be played/enjoyed.
This!

It needs to be completely and utterly unmissable, because for years we have been able to assume that anything sold here is DRM-free. If you're going to have games which don't fit that criterion then they need to be more clearly marked than the current Wolfenstein example.

I'd propose going as far as to use a different store page colour scheme or something to differentiate this "separate category".
Post edited October 20, 2022 by my name is grompy catte
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Community
General discussionGOG 2022 update #5: about the games, we can play with others(251 posts)(251 posts)
(251 posts)