I thought you were the "devil's advocate", not the "content god" deeming what is and isn't content :D Cosmetic content may be trivial, in some games it may even be silly and not thematic, but regardless of all that it is content. Pardon the tautology but to emphasize the point: content that is walled behind DRM, is DRMed content.

Depending on how you view what it means for "GOG" as a company to do something, the new app on the Galaxy 2.0 store evidently allows users to buy DRMed games via GOG, and GOG support/refund etc applies to them. I would call those Galaxy-exclusive games, in the sense that there is no option within the GOG ecosystem to buy them, other than by using the "optional" client.

In other words what you're saying already exists if not in essence then in spirit. This Cyberpunk cosmetic content is apparently exclusive to it, pre-loading is exclusive to it. Notwithstanding the point of offline installers being out of date (in some cases months and YEARS, according to users in other topics), GWENT is certainly not available offline. Multiplayer is exclusively through Galaxy for numerous games, is that really that different from a DLC?

Personally, I will continue to buy games on GOG that are 100% DRM-free and especially ones that are Linux native, to support smaller developers who are staying faithful to the DRM-free ideals, even if GOG aren't. It's not their fault that GOG is compromising their core values, so I don't think it's fair to punish them for GOG's misdeeds. However, you could argue that they could be releasing their games on a different store, like Zoom Platform, and I will definitely start to support them too for games they are selling.

For me, DRM-free on GOG will be dead the day the offline installers are removed, or they just become a farce, due to lack of maintenance. Admittedly, that day may not be too far off ...

As a Linux user, I would switch back to Steam at the drop of a hat, if GOG ever removes the offline installers. Steam has far better support for Linux than GOG: the steam client works in Linux (unlike Galaxy) and Proton is arguably the most advanced tool for playing newer Windows games on Linux.

Literally, the one and only reason I am buying games here is for DRM-free offline installers. I am not interested even 1% in Galaxy and will never ever install it on my PC. Therefore, if I am ever put in a situation where I am forced to have to install a client to play games, I will go back to Steam (very reluctantly).

Because if you take away the offline installers which were (1) DRM free and (2) simple and convenient without adding yet another unneeded malware to your system (Galaxy) then Steam is a better ecosystem - more titles, quicker turnaround time on patches and better community support. GOG is stoically shooting itself in the foot, repeatedly.

Well at least this explains why GOG didn't lean on Hello Games too hard over the same shit happening with No Man's Sky. Nothing like setting a bad precedence that will further erode GOG's core values of what is left of them, but CDPR is very good at that.

That statement is nonsense. The DRM'ed content is part of the game itself; therefore, 'the game itself' is not DRM-free.

And it's not 'useless' either, because it has the use of adding fun/enjoyment/pleasure to the game for the people who are able to access it.

It's DLC. It's not even part of all versions of the game (although they should have added the GOG-shirt to Steam, EGS, whatever versions for shits and giggles).

I agree that it's DRM'd DLC, something GOG shouldn't have. At all. It should be removed, or made available offline.

"Game uses generic default model for all characters in the game unless you are signed in to your GOG Galaxy account". Feel differently about it? "It's just cosmetic".

Stop being an ass. It's 100% DRM -- it's not even borderline or close. It's the very fucking definition of DRM: logging into an account during play to have content exist.

This is a weird hill for GOG to die on. GOG Galaxy was always supposed to be optional yet now in a short span of time we first find out using it is the only way to pre-load the game, and now there's this thing too. GOG is unfortunately alienating their most loyal supporters this way.

When I saw the old CP2077 pre-order cancellations thread bumped up today I thought it's because someone was stirring up some controversy where there is none, again. Instead, it turns out this time it's really that GOG/CD Projekt decided to shoot themselves in the foot on the eve of the release of their most highly-anticipated game.

While those redemption bonuses can be considered a minor thing, and there will likely be an easy bypass to get them anyway, the snub to all the people who supported GOG due to their DRM-free stance is real.

If GOG Galaxy is so great, it doesn't have to shoved down people's throats: those who want it will install it anyway. Meanwhile, some of us don't care for launchers and other garbage, and that was always GOG's raison d'être. If people are forced to choose between walled-garden launchers, they might very well find out that GOG is not the most compelling proposition in this market, and switch to one of the competitors' products.

I was surprised to learn about this today but I wouldn't be surprised tomorrow if turns out the release version of the game has kept the Denuvo DRM that the reviewers' builds had.

Damage is done but I hope in the long run GOG can reconsider and see the light: they wouldn't be where they are now if they started the way they've now become.

The anwser to your questiln of why is right here.

4.3 GOG GALAXY Application. If you use GOG GALAXY Application (including GOG GALAXY Store) we will also collect technical logs, information about achievements in games you play and how long you play them;

That information is worth money. If all you are doing is downloading offline installers they get nothing.

Non-personal data. We might process some aggregated and general non-personal data on user behaviour (e.g. sales per region, number of support tickets) and share it with Trusted Partners who work with us to provide GOG services to you (for example, with games developers/publishers selling games on GOG.COM or with payment providers) in order to support, improve or amend GOG services or to help them to improve their products, which you have bought. We may also share non-personal information with data analysis services to help us run GOG.COM. Fear not, as mentioned above, everything’s anonymised, so you cannot be identified.

So maintaining offline downloads has nothing to do with it, you make that spund expensive, it litterally is prolly one person.

It has to do with making huge profit increases by taking that free data we give them, anazyling it, and figuring out how to manipulate the biggest amount of people to make the most profit. They also sell that information to who ever they want, because thier trusted partner nonsense is just that nonsense.

To be honest though gog has the best private policy ive seen. Unlike samsung that says they will collect as mich information as they can and will sell it to who ever they want.

Gog seems actually concerned with the information they take, and are using it just for game purposes.

I feel it is totally unneeded for playing single-player games, as is the Steam client. I see no reason why I should launch an online client every time I want to play a single-player game on my computer. Especially as nowadays we have more and more different digital stores and services that all want to have their own client that launches whenever you start Windows, meaning you suddenly have dozens of "gaming clients" and other clients running in the background, just because.

It is a bit like requiring me to wear a scuba diving suit whenever I want to drive my car. I would be like "What for? It is just a hindrance for no good reason.". Someone might point out that "What if you accidentally drive your car into the sea?" etc. but that is grasping for straws.

The offline installers you download with Galaxy don't include the pre-order bonus items either.

Using that same logic, why are they offering Galaxy pre-loads for the game either? After all, you could start downloading it with Galaxy also after 10th of Dec, right?

If you see some benefit with Galaxy pre-loads, the same benefits would be also with offline installer pre-loads. If I recall correctly, The Witcher 3 did offer pre-loads with offline installers as well.

I personally don't care for the preloads, but your logic doesn't really work.

This is not good.

To add to that like my last , they are just using it to mine our data. Not every one likes thier data mined.

Not only that it doesnt work with linux natively.

Hope for them and for us that they will listen to the community and remove this, GOG.com is created by them to sell DRM free games, so games with ALL content without DRM, it might be just cosmetics, but it break their own rules as you have to launch Galaxy to unlock them and it's worst as it's one of their games.
I use Galaxy for cloud saves and to see my playtime sometimes, but i like to have the choice if i use it or not in a store who says it's DRM free.

How far do we extrapolate this though? Like many games give you a bonus item if you buy a can of Mountain Dew and put in a code it gives you. Is that DRM? Is any game with that kind of offer going to be listed on PC Gaming Wiki as having "Mountain Dew DRM" or something?

If you take the 100% pure and uncompromising definition of DRM and apply it to bonus costumes or whatever for using Galaxy then yeah sure, I can see the argument. I think as with all things in life though, we have to step back and look at it through a more nuanced lens. Bonus items depending on where you pre-order, or when you bought it, or whatever else have been a thing for a long time. Is it technically DRM'd content? Yeah I guess, but it is it really significant? Is it making the game itself a DRM'd game? I think this is all a grey area at least. Also we don't know how DRM'd the actual content is, it might be a simple file you can backup.

You're talking to someone who thinks a Galaxy requirement in general would not be DRM as long as you could download 100% offline backups within it, so this isn't my first dance in the DRM grey area rodeo. I respect other opinions, but do I personally think my Cyberpunk game now has DRM? Not really, because of the type of content we're discussing and the unknown aspect of its authentication. If you're someone who is worried about how necessary Galaxy will be in the future though, I can see why this is yet another stepping stone on the way toward that possible endpoint.

There should be a different bonus item for only using the standalone installer then.