GWENT is now on Steam:
store.steampowered.com/app/1284410/GWENT_The_Witcher_Card_Game/

Wut?

In order to answer your question...
What?

It’s been on loads of platforms, surprised it wasn’t on steam before.

You meant GWENT, the south-eastern county in Wales, right? It has always been "over there"...

Given console support ended, makes sense to open up the largest market on PC, though it does it make it even of a hoot when you look at the FCK-DRM comments taking a snipe at Valve. Either way, more players to play with if you like Welsh-named card games!

"Why not" is because GOG spent many years trying to keep GWENT as a GOG exclusive to draw people to GOG and also so that they get all the money collected from it instead of giving 30% of it to Steam.

Yet now after all this time, GOG has bent the knee to Steam, so to speak, and caved in. They also did the same thing with Thronebreaker, albeit that took less time before GOG bent the knee.

"Who cares" are people who don't like to see GOG bend the knee on matters like these. GOG's lack of commitment to taking & sticking with a stand on matters like these is one of the reasons why Steam has a monopoly stranglehold over the PC games market.

The smart thing to do would have been to keep GWENT and Thronebreaker as GOG exclusives, and even more importantly, make Cyberpunk 2077 also be a GOG exclusive. That would have been a bold move which massively increases GOG's customer base and CDPR's profits.

But instead of doing the wise & bold move like that, they move in the opposite direction by capitulating to Steam on GWENT, and by giving Steam and EGS Cyberpunk 2077.

Gwent is not over anywhere, Gwent is now, current and thriving. Just because "there" says it's over doesn't mean we have to accept it. They said disco was over, I think we all laugh at them for that now.

Didn't take long for this thread to morph into a rose garden laden with landmines. Fun stuff.

Gave a glance at the Steam discussion end of things. I want to say I'm shocked at all the shameless reflink whoring, but it's almost like I've stepped backwards in time to when referral schemes were the hot ticket to the top of the mountain.

So releasing a game in another store years later is "bending the knee"? Gee, I sure hope publishers for whose games we are still waiting here don't realise that. If anything GWENT represents GOG's lack of commitment to DRM-free releases :P If that's the weapon GOG was supposed to defeat Steam with than I'm glad they "bent the knee".

Now let's stop this nonsense and listen to Over There by The Connells.

Aside from no DRM, aren't the pro-GOG-, anti-Epic-exclusivity-, anti-Steam-monoculture, anti-console-exclusives- arguments usually that the customer should be free to choose their preferred platform and ecosystem and not be forced into a specific store/system?

That kinda goes both ways.

If people want to play Gwent on Steam, Epic or Granny's Organic Digital Distribution Service, by all means let them.

They would not be able to afford to keep Cyberpunk 2077 as a GOG exclusive, not even for a second. That would cost so many sales it would be an utter disaster. There's being bold and there's being reckless...and then recklessly stupid


Fact is, GOG have many exclusives, but they rarely mention them. It would make more seen to refocus marketing to highlight their stronger points instead of doing the same tired cycle

That's the best news i have ever heard ! Gwent and Steam belong with each other. One step closer to get Gwent migrated from GOG to Steam exclusivity. Out with that horrible piece of DRM.

Truly horrifying it is.

remember how exclusivity was tried with Thronebreaker already and sales disappointed so shareholders forced it to Steam? tbh I do think GOG should keep trying to get exclusives but they don't have much negotiating power

"Requires 3rd-Party Account: GOG Account (Supports Linking to Steam Account)" - LOL, maybe I'm sick in the head but I kinda like this :P

If somebody wants to start playing Gwent and would like to receive some additional rewards here is my recruitment link:

https://www.playgwent.com/en/invite-a-friend/E9XDV79CT6

Rewards include Premium Kegs, Reward Points, Arena Tickets and Legendary Premium Cards.
To get them you will need to install the game using my link above and then reach some milestones.

I wonder if the OP is a fan of Linkara by any chance.

It'd be even better if it required Galaxy 2.0 XD