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The end of the year and the beginning of the new one, is a very special time that allows us to take a moment to look back, and sum up everything that has happened. Those reflections are crucial in gaining more knowledge, celebrating our successes, and growing in pursuit of providing you with the very best experience while using both GOG and GOG GALAXY.

Having said that, 2022 was a year full of excitement, great new ideas, overcoming challenges, as well as finding and implementing new improvements and initiatives. And today, when we are looking back at this year, we are happy, proud and grateful. Happy, because we’ve managed to achieve goals that we’ve set for ourselves and for our community. Proud, because when facing challenges, we ended up better than we were before. And grateful, for you – our community and fellow gaming enthusiasts, because, simply, you’re the best.

Now, allow us to take you on a walk through 2022’s highlights, and see what we’ve managed to achieve together this year. But don’t worry, we’ll try to keep it short and sweet!

At the beginning of 2022, we focused on providing better platform experience for our community. We wanted to make sure that buying the game of your choosing, browsing the catalog, checking the best deals and new releases, finding hidden gems, or discovering what next to play would be as smooth and pleasant as possible. That desire manifested in releasing the new and improved catalog with more customized searches, and ability to sort and filter games by price, release date range, genres, and tags. We also made the main view in GOG GALAXY more dynamic and alive by highlighting all the events, giveaways, deals, and all the gaming goodness that took place.



Moreover, we increased our activities around classic games as a tribute to our roots. That means more classic releases, interviews with their creators, celebrating their anniversaries, adding the “Good Old Game” catalog, and more! Or, and that’s all thanks to you, gathering more than $4,000 USD for The Video Game History Foundation, which supports, preserves, celebrates, and teaches the history of video games.

Later in 2022, we raised a very important, both to you and us, topic of DRM-free gaming, our commitment to it and what it means to us. Everything we said back then still holds true and will continue to do so: the single-player mode has to be accessible offline, games you bought and downloaded can never be taken from you or altered against your will, the GOG GALAXY client is and will remain optional for accessing single-player offline mode.

Somewhere in the middle of the year, we also launched our blog! Creation of such a hub allowed us to post our editorials in a place, where its various engaging contents, filled with highlights of classic and new games, interviews, guest articles, gaming reflections and gaming’s universes deep dives, will be easy to find and always accessible through a few clicks. New editorial pieces will still appear there with even higher quality and interesting topics.



And when Halloween was just around the corner, we tackled another important topic of online-only games on GOG. We understand that some titles are meant to be played with others, and their multiplayer-only modes is also one of many beautiful gaming characteristics. Because we love games as much as you do, we wanted you to be able to scratch that multiplayer itch on GOG as well. And while we assure you that this will not influence our DRM-free approach discussed earlier, we opened our platform for online-only multiplayer games, which are marked as such on the gamecard, and we leave the decision up to you whether you want to play them.

Finally, to end the year on a high note, we’ve added new awesome feature to further improve GOG and GOG GALAXY experiences – OpenCritic implementation to our gamecards. By partnering up with one of the most renowned and respected review aggregation websites for video games, we want you to not only grasp a better understanding of games that you are interested in, but also help you make better decisions when making purchases and expand your library with titles that suit your gaming needs best.



We wholeheartedly believe that all that we’ve managed to achieve in 2022 are great steps towards becoming the favorite platform for everyone that loves, and still keeps falling in love with games. We absolutely can’t wait for all the incredibly exciting things that 2023 will bring, and we believe that for you, and with you, we are able to achieve every goal we’ll set for ourselves. Hope you all had a wonderful year, and the next one will be even better – see you in 2023!
Yes, apart from a couple of good, high profile releases, what exactly have you managed to do this year?

-Further muddy the definition of DRM.
-Started implementing DRM based rewards in your own games, and continue to justify doing so.
-Taken games out of our accounts and replacing them with versions that lack previous functionality.
-Shoved unwanted DLC into our accounts.
-Bundled in all languages into even more bloated offline installers.
-Pushed politically charged games, sales and threads while forbidding discussion.
-Consistently botch new release threads with broken links.
-Generally left the forum rot in a stew of overzealous moderation, missing features and busted code.

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Ancient-Red-Dragon: What GOG probably wouldn't do, though, is the thing that actually would have value; that would be for GOG to have someone speak for their company in a forthcoming and forthright and transparent manner, a spokesperson who agrees that they will directly address all of the questions - even the difficult & uncomfortable hardball questions - & issues that the GOG community has for them in relation to GOG.

And the questions & issues would need to be answered & addressed as fully and openly as possible, in the manner of normal everyday speaking, as opposed to any PR-like, committee-approved manner of speaking.

GOG definitely should do that, even though I don't think they will.
That is what a company that respects its clients should do yes, but as you said, I don't think they will. They don't hire the right kind of people anymore for that kind of engagement.
Thank you for the good work and never mind the haters. You're a great alternative to Steam in many ways. Now if you'd only implement user-generated tags (curated) and a way to mark a game as "not interested" or "owned on other platform" would be awesome. And/or ITAD integration.
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reeneepso: Support Linux. Support the Steam Deck.
Support Linux. Invent the GOG Deck :-D
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ReynardFox: Yes, apart from a couple of good, high profile releases, what exactly have you managed to do this year?

-Further muddy the definition of DRM.
-Started implementing DRM based rewards in your own games, and continue to justify doing so.
-Taken games out of our accounts and replacing them with versions that lack previous functionality.
-Shoved unwanted DLC into our accounts.
-Bundled in all languages into even more bloated offline installers.
-Pushed politically charged games, sales and threads while forbidding discussion.
-Consistently botch new release threads with broken links.
-Generally left the forum rot in a stew of overzealous moderation, missing features and busted code.

avatar
Ancient-Red-Dragon: What GOG probably wouldn't do, though, is the thing that actually would have value; that would be for GOG to have someone speak for their company in a forthcoming and forthright and transparent manner, a spokesperson who agrees that they will directly address all of the questions - even the difficult & uncomfortable hardball questions - & issues that the GOG community has for them in relation to GOG.

And the questions & issues would need to be answered & addressed as fully and openly as possible, in the manner of normal everyday speaking, as opposed to any PR-like, committee-approved manner of speaking.

GOG definitely should do that, even though I don't think they will.
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ReynardFox: That is what a company that respects its clients should do yes, but as you said, I don't think they will. They don't hire the right kind of people anymore for that kind of engagement.
How many number of games does the first two issues in your post applies to?
i get its about principles and because gog as a store itself
but kinda curious what number of games people are reacting to based on the claims
just a few games or loads of games?
Theres loads of games in the catalog
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Lodium
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anidais: Any plans to update GOG Galaxy more frequently? It really needs more polish and optimization. It´s the slowest game launcher of them all. Yes, even the Epic client is snappier. I´m disappointed that progress has been so slow.
I second that notion!
I got a pc with over 100Gb of ram, and somehow the GoG Galaxy client manages to bog down the start up, impressive. My cheap old win10 laptop could probably handle most of the good old 98/XP non-action based game titles, but Galaxy takes up 10% of the ram on idle, and stutters, meanwhile Photoshop starts much faster and runs fine. An Idle game launcher shouldn't be a bigger drain than Photoshop.

I'm thinking there is some issue about memory management in the Galaxy client.


More Linux support would be great, especially Linux Mint.
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Scrapack
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Lodium: How many number of games does the first two issues in your post applies to?
i get its about principles and because gog as a store itself
but kinda curious what number of games people are reacting to based on the claims
just a few games or loads of games?
Theres loads of games in the catalog
This answers your questions:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/post1
high rated
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ReynardFox: Yes, apart from a couple of good, high profile releases, what exactly have you managed to do this year?

-Further muddy the definition of DRM.
-Started implementing DRM based rewards in your own games, and continue to justify doing so.
-Taken games out of our accounts and replacing them with versions that lack previous functionality.
-Shoved unwanted DLC into our accounts.
-Bundled in all languages into even more bloated offline installers.
-Pushed politically charged games, sales and threads while forbidding discussion.
-Consistently botch new release threads with broken links.
-Generally left the forum rot in a stew of overzealous moderation, missing features and busted code.
I don't think anything after the first 4 points is at all worth responding to, and the fourth point specifically about getting unwanted DLC is something I don't see as a problem as long as you can still install the game without that DLC. That said, the frist three points, especially the top ones, are extremely concerning, and all the language surrounding how because they "love games as much as you do" they are going to start adding online only experiences with DRM has me extremely concerned that we'll lose the only reason I bother shopping here instead of Steam. Once this platform becomes just as infested with online-only claptrap and rewards requiring online integration and connection to the storefront, it suddenly is extremely ajacent to online-only requirements for progression and unlocks like Hitman 2016. While at the time I was glad to see them roll it back, I'm beginning to think they knew exactly what they were doing and were testing the waters, because if that addition had been mostly positively received with little backlash we'd suddenly be inundated with online-only gameplay and suddenly Denuvo would look like the friendly alternative to a game that boots you if your connection hiccups.

I certainly won't buy a single game on this platform that is online only, and it's not like I can un-buy Witcher 3 here, but once they add BS online-only unloicks to the game that cannot be earned in the ofline installers then I may as well get it on Steam or wait for someone on the seven seas to figure out how to buypass the online lockout on the content. This year in review has me very, very worried about the future of this platform, and coming to the comments is how I learned about the online-only items in Witcher 3, a game that even has a questline about the benefits of buying on a DRM-free platform. That is a line they have crossed, and they need to reverse course and make those part of the updated offline installers at once.

Oh, briefly, the third point is something I'd like more information on and will be doing some searching. I knew that if you bought a game and later bought all the expansions and such that would be part of a GOTY edition or the like they would credit that edition to your account too, but it concerns me if they're taking away access to offline installers to replace them with ones for different versions of the game, like a "remaster" that cuts content or the like, without preserving the original. Reminds me why I came to this platform in the first place, and why I keep backup installers of my favorite games on an external, but I haven't had that happen to me yet so I want to know more.
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Animaitor: (achievements should be forced on games that offer them on Steam).
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WolfEisberg: No, a huge no. this would give another reason for dev/pub to not put their games on GOG, they may feel it is not worth the money to go through the work to add achievements. And if I miss out on games through GOG over something as dumb as achievements, I would not be happy. Not everyone cares about achievements.
Easy, ignore them. Let the rest of us enjoy them.

If devs are so damn lazy to incorporate achievements on a game that already has them on Steam, GOG provides tools to do it automatically. As easy as using a "Steam SDK Wrapper". Few clicks and done. Incorporating achievements will not require more work at all.
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Animaitor
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FirestormMk3: the fourth point specifically about getting unwanted DLC is something I don't see as a problem as long as you can still install the game without that DLC.
The DLC was for a game I never owned, and according to others, it stayed as a separate entry in your library, even after buying the game. That is incompetence worth pointing out.

Also my 5th point about bloated installers is most definitely worth addressing. The Witcher 3 has basically doubled in size and it's almost entirely down to audio packs, and last I checked, Cyberpunk's offline installer is 20+GB larger than it needs to be.

Hard drives cost money, space is finite and these are not insubstantial filesizes. GOG used to actually pack installers appropriately, adding extra language support as separate downloads. This is once again, GOG treating anyone who doesn't use Galaxy as a second class citizen.

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Lodium: How many number of games does the first two issues in your post applies to?
i get its about principles and because gog as a store itself
but kinda curious what number of games people are reacting to based on the claims
just a few games or loads of games?
Theres loads of games in the catalog
As you said, it's about the principle, and while, sure, there are loads of games in the catalogue, one game with DRM here is too many. But, as you can see for yourself in the thread that foad linked above, over time more and more games are appearing, or being modified in a way that can no longer be considered DRM free. What came before is irrelevent, this is a trend that is escalating, and given GOG's progressively more obfuscated definition, increased tone-deafness towards its own userbase and blatant use of DRM locked rewards in their own flagship game... there most definitely is cause for alarm.
Post edited January 02, 2023 by ReynardFox
Thanks for another year of DRM-free games. It's the main reason I almost exclusively buy games from GOG.
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FirestormMk3: the fourth point specifically about getting unwanted DLC is something I don't see as a problem as long as you can still install the game without that DLC.
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ReynardFox: The DLC was for a game I never owned, and according to others, it stayed as a separate entry in your library, even after buying the game. That is incompetence worth pointing out.

Also my 5th point about bloated installers is most definitely worth addressing. The Witcher 3 has basically doubled in size and it's almost entirely down to audio packs, and last I checked, Cyberpunk's offline installer is 20+GB larger than it needs to be.

Hard drives cost money, space is finite and these are not insubstantial filesizes. GOG used to actually pack installers appropriately, adding extra language support as separate downloads. This is once again, GOG treating anyone who doesn't use Galaxy as a second class citizen.

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Lodium: How many number of games does the first two issues in your post applies to?
i get its about principles and because gog as a store itself
but kinda curious what number of games people are reacting to based on the claims
just a few games or loads of games?
Theres loads of games in the catalog
avatar
ReynardFox: As you said, it's about the principle, and while, sure, there are loads of games in the catalogue, one game with DRM here is too many. But, as you can see for yourself in the thread that foad linked above, over time more and more games are appearing, or being modified in a way that can no longer be considered DRM free. What came before is irrelevent, this is a trend that is escalating, and given GOG's progressively more obfuscated definition, increased tone-deafness towards its own userbase and blatant use of DRM locked rewards in their own flagship game... there most definitely is cause for alarm.
too me gog was never about multiplayer
and i havent cared much about it here as this wasnt the reason i registred way back before galaxy
and i also feel this is really a responsibilty of the devs that made the game and not gog themself as i saw the client as just a tool devs coud chose to use or not and gog coudnt force devs to get devs to code in a separate lan feature or other means of multiplayer annyway
cheating is also a concern withouth a client on multiplayer games
as there is issues surronding lan when using tools as hammachi or simmilar methods
and really hard to enforce anti cheat messures thats rampant on some games using the hammachi method
ive heard theres methods to prevent it with methods like using mail or phone as a method to verify players id but then i wonderr if thats not just like another form of drm annyway

and there are some points i coud point out regarding cosmetics as well
one point is that kickstarter projects sometimes has limited rewards for backers or only higher tiers and im not sure how one is supposed to control how the limited cosmetics are only handed out for those that contributed to kickstart the game in the first place withouth a client
then i n effect the point of some of those rewards is pointless and those backers are effectivly cheated withouth the client because people are deffintly going to spread those limited rewards arround
but i can see there are games on that list that were newer on kickstarter or simmilar fund plattforms
and there are also some single pllayer games on the list thats not about cosmetics so thats concerning to me
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Lodium
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Lodium: too me gog was never about multiplayer
and i havent cared much about it here as this wasnt the reason i registred way back before galaxy
I don’t care about AAA games, but I would never use that to justify adding DRM to them ;)

That’s the same with multiplayer: if it is provided here, it should be in a DRM-free form. I would rather have multiplayer stripped from the games sold here (with an adequate reduction in price obviously), instead of having to pay for a DRMed multiplayer mode I will never be able to use.

This obviously does not apply to games with DRM-free multiplayer, these ones I am happy to pay for even if I am not planning to use this mode. At least I pay for something I can use, no matter if I chose to actually use it or not in the end.
Post edited January 02, 2023 by vv221
Wishing the best for gog during this 2023, hopefully they manage to get more people on board and/or enhance their working conditions so they can set out to develop some of the improvements the website is in dire need of (2022's summary comes off as pretty underwhelming and a bit tone-deaf if half of what was achieved are statements and the launch of a blog :S).
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Wirvington
GO GO GOG!! Happy new year, stay alive, stay smart, take care of games, take care of your employees, pay heed to your loyal customers, stay true to devs, things should look shiny!

One more year happy to have met GOG
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Lodium: too me gog was never about multiplayer
and i havent cared much about it here as this wasnt the reason i registred way back before galaxy
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vv221: I don’t care about AAA games, but I would never use that to justify adding DRM to them ;)

That’s the same with multiplayer: if it is provided here, it should be in a DRM-free form. I would rather have multiplayer stripped from the games sold here (with an adequate reduction in price obviously), instead of having to pay for a DRMed multiplayer mode I will never be able to use.

This obviously does not apply to games with DRM-free multiplayer, these ones I am happy to pay for even if I am not planning to use this mode. At least I pay for something I can use, no matter if I chose to actually use it or not in the end.
I disagree

i grew up ib the arcade days when people played on arcades so i dont see it the same way
Multiplayer then was only split sceen and local multiplayer
Hammaci and virtual lan over the net didnt exist
and you had to put money on to play annyway
and i think the hammachi method is stretching the deffiniton of it not being online whic is the riequirment laid out in the list
The tread is essentially concluding if i have to go online to play the game or using or acuiring a dlc, cosmetic or multiplayrer feature by using a tool like galaxy , hammachi , mail, etc then that is by deffiition a drm measure
you arent offline when using those as i understand the thread
Post edited January 02, 2023 by Lodium