Was just thinking to myself. In this day and age, it's cool to have an option to be able to buy games that aren't tied up with invasive restrictions or infected with insidious 'games as a service' scams. It's just you and the game.

I don't mind the late releases and commend the publishers who let their creations stand separate from all the corporate trappings.

I know GOG is a corporation too, but just holding on to a basic principle of DRM-free games still makes me feel good.

Hope we can all stick around for years to come.

If it wasn`t for gog, I would have stopped gaming years ago. And I am very thankful that gog exists.

<s>However, I cannot help but notice that some encroachment is taking place. Galaxy produces a lot of personal data that is completely unnecessary – like what games you play at what time and how long. That is exactly the kind of “service” that stops me from using steam. Of course, compared to the steam client that is beyond harmless. But why spy at your customers at all? </s>

A lot of people have issues with GOG (... and most of them are justified, granted), but what everyone tends to forget is what GOG has done for us and to some degree keeps doing: offering DRM free oldies for everyone to enjoy. And it would be a sadder (gaming) world without them. Data lakes! One could simply stop using Galaxy altogether (I for one never had), and only be spied on the website :P.

One can actually turn off the tracking! Thank you gog support for pointing this out!

When I started playing point and click adventures it was very difficult, if not impossible, to find classic games. Grim Fandango for instance could be purchased on the internet but because it was so rare the price was high. I remember how excited I was when the game was released on GOG. Much appreciated GOG.

... at least some of it. That's not all Galaxy tracks. In case you're interested, there's more on this thread.

Unfortunately, a vocal group of users asked for Galaxy. Fortunately, provided you're only interested in single player, you can play your games completely without Galaxy (with a couple of exceptions for cosmetic items in CP and a few other small things from other games).

I just hope gog..com does not go out of business in the next 50 years, even thought I might not be alive by then.

Heck I might not even be alive in the next 20 years at all.

It's very nice to see a positive thread for a change.
Despite all its shortcomings the fact remains that GOG still has a lot of positives things going for it. Personally I have to thank GOG for making so many classics available and playable on my PC, for making me stop pirating games and for greatly extending the lisfespan of my gaming machine.

Maybe I'm seeing things wrong or exaggerating, but if it were not for GOG I suspect that DRM/Client-free gaming (at least on PC) would be officially extinct right now and the main issue among gamers would be the debate between Client-users and Stream-users.

Its questionable if it's going to survive next few years since its not doing very well financially. Depends on how long CD RED means to subsidize the company's losses.

Gaming sadly has started to switch to subscription based services and more and more people are switching to XBox/Playstation service subscription or other competitors.

Steam is fighting back against that by creating its own Ecosystem with the Steam Deck. Gog has nothing new to offer right now. Only time will tell if it will survive.

I don't think GOG is going to survive into the future unless it somehow works out a way to offer the hot new mega-popular games, like Elden Ring.

But in reality, all indications are that that is never going to happen.

And instead, GOG seems to be doubling-down on a very money-losing strategy, which is to obsess over old & obsolete games that most modern gamers don't care about, other than a small niche audience only, which is certainly not large enough to sustain GOG by itself over the long-term.

I sadly agree. It also doesnt help that there are quite a few old games that GOG cant get because their publishers wouldnt want to put them on GOG (Chrono Trigger, Total War series, etc).

Thank Dog for GOG ... despite some of the issues we have with them.

GOG of course are constantly fighting a battle to survive, having taken a DRM-Free stance as their core feature, and they cannot continue without compromises from time to time.

As has been said by others, old stuff is not enough for them to survive on, so they need to constantly explore other options, and we have certainly seen some of those ... most recently I guess with the rise of Anime and Adult games.

In many ways, it is amazing GOG still exists as it does, and I guess we have the parent company to thank for that.

Long Live GOG!

P.S. I wouldn't be buying games again, if not for GOG ... and that has led me to discover other great DRM-Free supportive stores like ZOOM Platform, and even Itch.io and those that have a fair DRM-Free section. If not for GOG I would never have become interested again to explore the other options. Hell I have even discovered the DRM-Free Lite options of Steam and Epic, from threads in the GOG Forum ... sadly they are locked now ... probably an indicator of how GOG are currently struggling.

What I think people tend to forget is that, even in spite of its flaws, GOG is still the best place to buy PC games if you care at all about actually owning what you buy. I've come to agree with at least some of the complaints recently but I still love this service and will stick with them as long as they continue to offer great games DRM-free, along with a fantastic optional client, and great overall policies that make me feel valued as a customer.