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A warning to anyone who has DRM-free games on DotEmu - just got this email in:

To our beloved customers,

After over 6 years of good and loyal service, we sadly inform you that we have decided to definitely close DotEmu's online store. It was a place where thousands of PC gamers had been able to find and to buy their favorite retro games but we have no choice but to close it with a heavy heart.

Unfortunately, there are more and more companies that sell games on the online market, the competition is fiercer than it used to be. On the other side, it’s been now a few years that we’re focusing on the development/publishing of console and mobile games instead of distribution. This is the reason why we, DotEmu, have decided to shut the store down.

The schedules for the closing store are as follows:
March 1st, 2017: You won't be able to buy new games after this date but will still be able to access to your account in order to download the games you previously bought.
June 1st, 2017: the store is closing permanently. The domain will no longer be accessible after this date.

To download your games, please follow the steps below:
Go on the website : https://store.dotemu.com/user
Login
On the top right of your screen, you will find your profile
Select “My Games”
Select the game you want to install
Download and enjoy it!

You don’t have to worry about losing your games, you can still play them even if the store is closed due to the DRM free system. But make sure you download your games before June 1st, otherwise you won’t be able to do so anymore.

Be assured, we will be still looking for great retro games for our community because our mission remains the same: give every gamer access to yesteryear’s classic video games on today's platforms, including PC, mobile, console and more. You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook and keep an eye on our current and future awesome retrogaming projects.

Thank you again for having being part of the great DotEmu's online store adventure and for all the support you gave us. If DotEmu has grown that much, it is all thanks to you and the faith you put into our company for all these years.

Regards,

The DotEmu Team
Not entirely surprised if I'm honest. These are the risks you take with such small storefronts. Thankfully all of the games I have there are DRM-free and I'll be making another backup of them just to be safe, but it's still irritating, not to mention that a couple of the games I have there (Nicky Boom Pack and Irem Arcade Hits) are in desperate need of patching and are unlikely to ever see patches now.

(Just to be clear - only the store is closing down. DotEmu will continue to be releasing games as developers on Steam, PS4, Xbox One, probably Switch as well - maybe even GOG if they can get their act together).
Post edited March 17, 2017 by jamyskis
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Another one bites the dust.

Will IndieGameStand be the next one?
Shit, I feared it, but the store was dead for years now. There was a lot of drm-free games with multilanguages which are not available on GOG, like Spellforce Platinum : (
Thanks Jamyskis for the warning.
Post edited March 17, 2017 by MaxFulvus
I think i already downloaded all games i own there but i'll make another backup just to be sure.
It has been a long while this store was far in the background and not having updates, sales, events... It is OK for me, i have half a dozen games there, mostly classcis with French language and / or not available on GOG... (A Vampyre Story, Gabriel Knight 2 & 3, Silverfall + Earth Awakening, Murder in the Abbey; Broken Sword 3) already saved on my disk; DotEmu notably managed to sign with SquareEnix for many of latest Final Fantasy ports, which i appreciate and am confident for this studio / company future. A new Wonderboy coming soon!
Post edited March 17, 2017 by koima57
Not surprising, considering that their catalog is basically nothing, some of the game they were even involved with (remaster thingys) aren't on their store.
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Fairfox: This is why digi-only XYZ isn't always! a good thang. Altho to be totes honest it's teh sort of world I've grown up in. Buuut even I knos it!
Digital-only is never a good thang, neither for the publisher/developer nor for the gamer. In some cases it's an unfortunate necessity, usually because low expected returns on the game don't warrant the outlay for a physical (re-)release (i.e. for niche markets such as low-key indie games or emulated re-releases of classic titles).

But the vast majority of capable developers and publishers will always strive to achieve two-channel distribution - digital because it involves limited investment, physical because of superior discoverability, less competition and largely better profit margins. This is why we're seeing physical releases of so many major indie titles, these days even on consoles. For gamers, physical releases keep games in the wild even after they're pulled from digital distribution.

As far as DotEmu is concerned, there is the redeeming factor that the overwhelming majority of the games are at least available on GOG, Steam or secondhand on CD. Irem Arcade Hits is only available on GMG of all places. But a few games - much of Silmarils' and Microids' back catalogue for instance - isn't available elsewhere, and many of these games only appeared on floppy disc.
It was my first entry in a digital store (in 2010), before Steam and GOG. I'm feel old now : /
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MaxFulvus: There was a lot of drm-free games with multilanguages which are not available on GOG, like Spellforce Platinum : (
Yeah, it's beyond me why Nordic won't add the original German version of Spellforce to GOG. The English translation is not particularly great.
Thanks for the information, as I got no mail from them. Sadly to hear that, but on the other hand not really a surprise. I should already have all relevant stuff backuped from them, but to be safe I will download to another drive to do a check later.


Edit: Would be great if GOG could make a deal with Dotemu to give out gog-keys, at least for their own published games like the Ishar or Robinsons Requiem series. But I guess that would be to much effort in this short remaining time.
Post edited March 17, 2017 by DukeNukemForever
The only game I care about is Transartica but it's safely backed up :)
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Ghorpm: The only game I care about is Transartica but it's safely backed up :)
Same here. Got so many amazing gems back there. I'll back 'em up asap and I'll glady repurchase in here, once available.
Sudden Strike will be solely missed ;(

Sad to see but it was something I was expecting sooner or later.
Thank you for the warning. That's a rather sad development, but at least we have time to download.
Didn't receive an e-mail from them but doesn't matter as my DOTemu library was already backed up a long time ago.

Rather than being surprised at the news, I'm more surprised that this part of their business was still up after this long period of inactivity.