StingingVelvet: The issue on Steam is it's not a new release, it's technically an update, so how do you do a pre-load for what essentially works as a patch in the system? Answer is you don't. I doubt GOG functions any different.
This is a really good point. From a technical perspective, if we were to treat the full release as something different than EA, you'd have to separately install and manage each.
The advantage is if you wanted to go back and play the EA version, you could without having to stockpile backup installers. The disadvantage is the hundreds of people who just want to play their game having to uninstall the old and reinstall the new, or having to deal with two copies installed on their drive. Seems messy to me.
I'm just telling myself the release date is Aug 4, and I'll play it then.