You don't. They can even be taken away in case of misbehavior or service termination.

Are we reading the same EULA? Because it explicitly says:-

"17.3 It seems very unlikely, but if we have to stop providing access to GOG services and GOG content permanently (not because of any breach by you), we will try to give you at least sixty (60) days advance notice by posting a note on www.GOG.COM and sending an email to every registered user - during that time you should be able to download any GOG content you purchased."
https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/16034990432541-GOG-User-Agreement-effective-from-17-February-2024

Or about as explicit as "Yes, you can carry on using your games post service termination" as it gets. Likewise, revoking your access to GOG services due to misbehaviour and "GOG can take away your backed up offline installers" are clearly two different things in the real world...

mate, if you piss off enough people they permaban you from the forums.
if you piss off the staff enough after that they cut your ability to access your library.
this has already happened (albeit to the wrong persons in the arguement).
please dont be so nieve.

Not that service termination. The other kind. The banhammer kind. Addedum: In plain English: They hold the blade which can remove your access.

From what I recall, one single person (TinyE) went out of his way to break the rules day after day with constant unending thread-derailing / provocation for several years and got banned. And even then access to his online account was apparently reinstated, he was just perma-banned from the forum in the end. I don't know anyone else who's had their "account wiped" beyond the fear-mongering, but if you can name names, then please do so.

And it's less "naive" to state "GOG can't take away your backed up offline installers" than it is to join the circle-jerk of the usual 3-4 resident edge-lords who constantly "interpret" GOG's EULA to read "if you're the slightest bit naughty, then after deleting your account, a GOG employee will fly several thousand miles, break into your house and steal your NAS!". Sigh... Yes, access to GOG's online services (account, Galaxy, ability to re-download, etc). Not access to your own NAS in your own house, obviously. It's no different to banned from a high-street store - you'd lose access to that store's services, account, loyalty card, gift vouchers, etc, but that DVD bought from that store 5 years ago that sits on your own bookshelf in your own home will still work in your DVD player. And at the end of the day, that's the whole point of wanting a DRM-Free version in the first place.

Not accurate to the situation that happened at all.

You're certainly welcome to provide proof he (or anyone here) had his "account permanently wiped" of all games, because that's definitely not what I recall others discussing here.

I didnt say that. Don't attempt to put words into my mouth. Also stop derailing the thread maybe.

You're the one who brought the subject up with "if you piss off the staff enough after that they cut your ability to access your library" and when question what happened, you've done nothing but dodge, evade and run away from the question. So I'll ask again - if you insist "this has already happened" (exact quote from post #4), WHO has it actually happened to and how long was access cut for? Just stick to the facts.

It was always the case. Now they just have to remind people of it because of the recently passed Californian law. The majority obviously doesn't mind because if they did, we wouldn't be where we are today with the absolute Steam domination in the market share.

Most will scoff upon hearing the "you will own nothing and be happy about it" phrase, but will engage with it anyway. Subscriptions and "X/Y as a service" are being pushed everywhere as THE business model and principles usually go aside for the majority when they'd start infringing upon comfort/convenience.

And of course, the reason I shop on GOG is because it's the closest it can get with a digital product to owning it. The moment you backup the installers, you don't have to engage further with the 3rd party. As long as that remains true, GOG will be the only place where I will buy games. Although, if somebody else, even Steam for example, started offering offline installers, I wouldn't have any issues with starting shopping there too. But seems like it's safe to say that will never happen now.

I have.
BYE BYE!

GOG's only advantage is the DRM-free aspect. The fact that I can download offline installers for what I buy here means I own the games, whether GOG themselves try to take them from me or not.

However, the big problem I see is that while Steam continues to offer more and more value to customers, GOG continues to take it away in increments. Yes, I like having my offline installers. Yes, I think Galaxy is a pretty solid client in spite of its issues. Yes, I do like the focus on making old games run better on new systems. However, that's not all that many PC gamers want these days, myself included.

I've been an avid fan and defender of GOG over the years since I started using the platform but that support has really dwindled over the past ~2 years or so because of how GOG themselves seem uninterested in doing more than the bare minimum to maintain their niche. You do realize that if Steam were ever to offer offline installers for games that are already DRM-free (in other words, games that are also here on GOG), they'd literally destroy every advantage GOG currently has except the old games thing, right? And let's be honest: as passionate as the retro gaming community is, GOG being focused solely on old games wouldn't be enough to sustain them as a business.

That's why I basically only use Steam these days. It offers unparalleled value. It's not because I wanted to hate on GOG. Quite the opposite, in fact. The principles GOG once stood for are still the principles that I hold close to my heart. The problem is that GOG, as a business, is not what they once were. If I woke up tomorrow and they renewed their commitment to pro-customer, pro-freedom values and started laying out plans to significantly increase the feature set and value of their ecosystem, I'd GLADLY come back to where I was at a couple years ago with this service. However, as it stands, they only seem to show interest in reducing value, screwing over the customers via things like forcefully opting us in to sales of our stolen data and so on. I don't see this changing any time soon but I keep offering up my prayer of "#BringMarcinBack".

Also, to be completely fair to Steam, comparing their philosophy with the WEF's "own nothing" policy is a bit disingenuous. It was Gabe Newell who famously said that PC games piracy was a service issue. In other words, he believed that a big part of why people pirated early on was because there was no easy way for gamers to buy games, get patches, purchase expansions, enjoy online/multiplayer aspects, etc. To be completely fair to GOG, Marcin Iwinski (please come back, bro) also had a similar statement that summarized what GOG used to be about (freedom and ownership). The problem is that, while Steam still holds fast to its values, GOG has gradually moved away from them, particularly over the past couple years. Again, not to harp on the Marcin Iwinski thing, but it was after he was seemingly pressured out of his role with CD Projekt that both companies started going downhill: sneaky tactics that border on DRM. Scumbag policies like selling our data without our permission because they forcefully opt us into data theft by claiming freebies. Pro-ESG and DEI policies. Removal of value by doing things such as drastically reducing storage space for cloud saves. The general abandonment of Galaxy. The list goes on. Meanwhile, it'd take an entire thread of its own to explain just how much Steam has relentlessly added more and more value to the platform while doubling down on the principles they stand for.

Again, I really do wish GOG would get back to the way they once were. I miss being the hardcore fan I once was. It's just that I can't see that happening unless drastic changes in leadership occur in CD Projekt as a whole and, well, I doubt that'll happen any time soon.

I also have (via making backups) full access to the few Steam game I own as well, whether they are happy about that or not ;)
Still I try to do most shopping on Gog/Itch/Zoom/Gamersgate...where the games are already DRM free and ready for archival. About that...

Well said. Games on gog used to be much more reasonably priced, then newer games were allowed on and it opened the floodgates for rights holders to charge whatever they wanted, in a number of cases taking those who only buy DRM-free for granted. I enjoy and desire DRM-free, but i'm not gonna be a sucker and pay double (or even more) for the same game and line some exec's pockets just to get a particular game DRM-free.

And before anyone says something like "that's the reason why DRM is still mainstream, we should only buy DRM-free to fix that!" I have to ask: does anyone seriously think DRM will be eliminated from the games industry to any meaningful/sizable degree in the near future if ever?

Y'all want DRM-free? Then buy from DRM-free stores or make the games DRM-free yourself, but don't be a sucker paying a high premium to try and get companies to drop DRM because it's about as likely as pigs flying at this point.