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More abandonware (like you did with Beneath a Steel Sky...) in progress
Added by
fritz.210 
SirPrimalform Beneath a Steel Sky was released as freeware by it's developer, it isn't in any sense abandonware. True abandonware (as much as the term exists) isn't officially free, its copyright just isn't being actively defended any more. There's a big difference between officially hosting freeware and hosting abandonware.
JSBenoit I would love to ba able to play again to DarkSpore, this game that I paid with friends is unplyable anymore because the servers have been shut down. That's the sad side when a game is only multiplayer :/ <br /> This is sadly an exemple to what is an abandonware. <br /> Please GOG, that would be so great if you could make something like you did recently with Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2005). <br /> I would buy it again immediatly and some friends with I played it too if you make it possible ! With you it's allowed to dream <3 <br /> Thank you for your work guys ! We all appreciate it :)
Totenglocke Since the entire rest of the series is already on GOG, the perfect abandonware game to pick up would be the original Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain.
Gekko_Dekko I love this 'in progress' state :D
Lebesgue There are many old games that I would gladly purchase at the $5 price. And I believe there are many like me. So I hope these will be added over time.
eman1787 Not sure if GOG will ever put true abandonware on their site, but there's a ton of DOS games that were freed by their creators, like Ken's Labyrinth, that they should put on here.
Talbonius GOG, you should make this your mission!
ralphunreal is gta 1 and 2 considered abandoned? I still think it would be cool to get them on gog.
jimmmmmo Abandonware should be looked at for archiving purposes and providing this generation access to games that would have been forgotten about.
Dean_Demon Abandonware is not something that actually exists, gamers like to think that just because a game is old that there is no legal entitlement involved well i can tell you the only time a game is FREE is because the original creators have allowed it to be FREE, sorry guys.
KnightW0lf i would pay $1.00 for just certain abandonware games mostly the last games that where abandon in 1995 and up something like that and 1994 games and before should just be free
GinotheMan Merit's Galactic Reunion, yes PLEASE!!!!!!!
ZMacZ Well...not just abandonware, but the ones that are old but good, and still have someone willing to sell the rights to.. <br /> Anyways..more older games in general, abandoned or not...and that doesn't mean all old DOS games, but like a lot of stuff from the last 10 years or so..
Abovet Since I fully approve this petition, if Star Wars: Battlefront 3 developed by Free Radical were to be included as an abandonware, I would support this more.
gogniaow What does "more abandonware" even mean? <br /> <br /> The abandonware term has no legal basis under current laws and GOG is bound to follow the law so they cannot start offering games for which copyright owners have not given/sold them permission. <br /> <br /> Please use a better term, "relicensed", "released into the public domain", etc. <br />
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Petrell I sense much spam in this topic. I wonder why? ;-p XD
Shmacky-McNuts Go try out a free to play game like Fallout 1 with a Zombie Apocalypse slant: <br /> <br /> Cataclysm - Dark Days Ahead. <br /> <br /> Google it =D
BBOBL DFFSDSFF
flamanar While this sounds good, I don't see a way for GOG to make money on this kind of thing (especially considering they'll probably have to work on it to make it work on current computers). Legally, I doubt they could sell them without permission from the rights holder. Again, if they offer it for free, then they lose money.
Gaerzi Beneath a Spam Sky
fjekwljk i like this article! cool!
jonridan Hidden & Dangerous is not abandonware, just freeware. There is a difference.
MrFreeman Hidden & Dangerous Deluxe is a parfect example of good abandonware. You should release it!
kofeiiniturpa To my understanding, the B.A.T. series might be abandonware; Ubisoft was involve back in the day, but I don't know if they are anymore or how deeply in love they are of the franchise if they are. <br /> <br /> Anyways... That's two excellent point'n click adventures with some lightweight RPG flare from the early 90's.
MasterS.249 'Beneath a Steel Sky' isn't abandonware, the studio responsible for it (Revolution Software) is still pretty much active -_-
Brujoloco So many games you have to "acquire" otherwise :( , more good old classics from yesteryear!
lazylazyjoe Been reading about commercial games being re-released for free and this is what I have learned: <br /> Some commercial games that have been re-released for free are only licensed to be done from certain sites or under certain conditions(i.e. bundling of Ads &/or spyware or "limited time"). Some have the license & code of the engine "open sourced", but don't change the license of the game data/content In order to allow their game be compatible with new or different systems, but still keep the rights to the game.And even if both engine and game data are released freely doesn't mean you can just make it available as some "open source" licenses have restrictions about commercial use or their being packaged with non-free software. <br /> Also, if the rights to the title are in question (such as owned by defunct company) or the rights owner either cannot be found or will not cooperate, that will kill any chance of a release. <br /> Ideally, you would want a game that has had it's game data released in a non-commercially restricted open source licence (i.e. GPL) by the current verifiable rights holder, has had the work done so that it's playable on modern systems (either thru reimplementation or emulation), and is a game of good quality so as to provide value to your service. <br /> Getting all those to happen requires a lot of resources,effort,cooperation, and luck. Below is a good place to start for possible titles and different licenses. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_video_games_released_as_freeware" class="light_un" target="_blank"><br /> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_video_games_released_as_freeware</a>
nshan.nnnn Chaos Legion. I don't know about the state of the game on consoles, but the PC version is certainly abandoned.
shaddim @Gaerzi: While it is true that the status "Abandonware" gives no one (also not gog) the legal right for re-distribution, abandonware is not classified by a assumed legitimation for re-distribution. Wikipedia gives a definition, where "abandonware" is classified by the non-availability and missing support by the original developer, as cultural problem. And by that definition gog can bring some games out of the abandonware status, after finding and talking with the IP holders.
Gaerzi Clever spambot. Now it finds a contextually sound place to insert a link.
Gaerzi No game is "officially abandonware" since abandonware is not a legal concept. (Closest would be "orphaned work", for when the right holder does not exist anymore; or public domain, which will not concern video games for a long while since copyright lasts for 70 years after author's death, 95 years after publication, or 120 years after creation, whichever comes first. (The "author's death" close does not apply when the rights are owned by a company rather than a person, by the way.) This means that, for example, "E.T. the Extraterrestrial", created for the Atari 2600 in 1986, will be public domain in... year 2077. It's very probable that most of us will be dead before the first PC games fall in the public domain. Provided there aren't any further copyright length extensions in between due to lobbying (cf. Mickey Mouse/Sonny Bono Act). Of course, it is possible (and it has happened) that a rightholder may decide to put a game in the public domain before terms expiration. And without going up to public domain, it's also possible that they allow free downloads and even in some cases free redistribution. But that doesn't make it abandonware, just freeware.
Niggles Interesting how this is in progress :). Be nice to see abandonware all gathered in one place :)
Grargar Abandonware is piracy. Whether you like it or not, that's irrelevant. GOG cannot add abandonware without the copyright holder's permission. Saying "This game is old, so it should be free!" is wishful thinking, nothing more. I mean, take music for example. It's still illegal to download Johnny B. Goode without paying, even though the freaking song is over 50 years old!
RighteousNixon I am all for adding more abandonware to GOG. In fact, I just sent the site an email on this very topic. That being said, I am 100% against GOG charging money for abandonware. Any title that is officially abandonware should be free, period. Charging people for a game that is legally free is not an approach for this website that I approve of whatsoever. I love GOG and I want GOG to succeed, but not if they are going to take advantage of gamers like that. In my opinion, GOG should be doing everything in its power to get more free games on this site and Abandonware is the perect solution. A well stocked free games section could be a major draw for GOG.
SillyRob GTA1 and GTA2 were free for some time (now discontinued). ;) <br /> I agree, there are still quite a few older gems out there, that I'd like to purchase. (System Shock 1!)
Pierre-Albert Why not GTA 1 and GTA 2 ?
xangwyllion Ocean Trader !
RetroCodger426 System Shock 1 please :)
Ascania Sierra's Outpost was unplayably buggy. Bringing it back without some major major extensive patching would just be an exercise in frustration.
SoftwareCheck Revenant is great!
BONKERS_ver2 Revenant!
bleugardenia Event Horizon "Veil of Darkness" and 'The Summoning". Two great games from the early 90's.
Robert1952 Outpost 1, originally released by Sierra. For its time it had great graphics good story and was scientifically accurate. Not to mention, challenging enough to hold the interest of anyone who has imagined building their own civilization on a new world. I feel this would be great addition
Zeles Daggerfall!!!!! the installation is fucked up
Baggins Speaking of limited 'free' giveaways, one example was Sierra back in the 90's gave out the disk version of Betrayal of Kronder, on their website. You could download it for free (this was to advertise the release of either Betrayal at Antara, or Return to Kronder), but the fine print was you couldn't redistribute it further. <br /> <br /> So once Sierra took down the promotional, there wasn't a legal way to obtain the game. It's back to being sold again! <br /> <br /> Mystery House was placed on public domain, and you read the whole facts behind it within some of the cracked copies that were made by other companies. For example the copy that was included in Roberta Williams collection was distributed by a third party other than Sierra, and has the Public Domain information included in one of its files. <br /> <br /> " <br /> The Public Domain Exchange <br /> 2074c Walsh Ave. <br /> Santa Clara, CA 95050 <br /> (408) 496-0624 <br /> <br /> From a great moment in history: Mystery House, the first graphic adventure, was created in 1980 by Sierra On-Line founders Ken and Roberta Williams, and released into the public domain in 1987 to celebrate Sierra's 7th anniversary. <br /> <br /> We encourage you to copy this game, for yourself or to share. If you have enjoyed it you may send a $5 donation to Ken and Roberta's favorite Charity, <br /> <br /> <br /> Sierra Historic Sites Association, <br /> P.O. Box 451. <br /> Oakhurst CA 93644 <br /> <br /> <br /> Note: because it is now free, Sierra's gift to you, we can no longer take calls on this game. If you need help. We suggest you contact your local Apple users group to talk with others who may have played it."
Baggins Games given out by the publishers are 'freeware' or released into the 'public domain' by the publishers (see Beneath a Steel Sky or Mystery House). However some companies have limited free release, as in you can get the game for free from specific sites, but you cannot pass the game onto other people or upload the game to other sites. <br /> <br /> There is no such thing as 'abandoneware'. It is not a legal term. If distribution occurs it is still breaking copyright laws.
shaddim @Gaerzi: Abandonware in its essence is software which was abandoned by its publisher/developer, therefore a kind of orphaned work, completely legal concept. Abandonware which is redistributed by third parties is a form of "warez", only this form of abandonware is illegal. The concept of "abandonware" is not necessarily connect with the concept of "warez", that's my point. E.g. the preservation of abandware is now legal.
Gaerzi "abandonware" is not "orphaned works". I go on abandonware sites, I see titles such as Doom on them. Despite the developer and publisher still being alive and well, and the game still being sold on the developer's site as well as on a popular digital distribution platform, and still getting officially ported to new platforms (PS3 and XBLA as part of that "BFG Edition" thing). But it's an old game and it's tiny and quickly downloaded and it doesn't have any sort of DRM, which means that it's abandonware! Weeeeee! Yeah no. This is why abandonware is not a legal concept. Orphaned works sure is; but most of abandonware is not orphaned works. It's just warez that you can get away with.
shaddim @graspee: see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphaned_Work" class="light_un" target="_blank">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphaned_Work</a>
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