Dalthnock: - If GOG stagnates, or even worse, declines, it'll close a deal with the DRM devil.
- If GOG grows enough to seriously compete with Steam, it'll shed its old customer base, possibly most of the current personnel, including management, that fought to keep it the way it is to this day & will conform to the corporate mandates of the business world, including DRM.
Geralt_of_Rivia: That does not make any sense at all.
In the first case, if GOG isn't doing well and they eliminate the only thing that separates them from the store that must not be named here they will lose most of their customers over night. Why buy on GOG when you can buy there directly?
And in the second case: If GOG can prove that DRM-free distribution works by growing into a serious competitor for the big boys without giving up on DRM-free why should they get rid of it? If they do they become just another shop. If they don't they have a USP that nobody else has.
It does make sense.
In the first case, if they're already declining, they won't have anything to lose. Declining sales have ALWAYS changed business practices. Always.
In the second case, when something becomes too big, it attracts potential buyers. If it's acquired, staff changes aren't uncommon. Which translates into a different mentality, ultimately ending in the all-powerful corporation mantra: Maximize short-term profit by any means necessary. You may know it as "bleeding a company dry, then throwing away the dried up husk".
Believe me - the best way to safeguard your interests in GOG is allowing it to keep growing just enough. Any other scenario spells doom.