I decided I want to try and find a game that suits my tastes (Which are pretty general) and also has a phsyical DRM free release in the US. Any suggestions?

How married are you to physical. Unless you go rather old, it's likely to be hard to get both physical and DRM-free

Depends on how strict you are with your definition of DRM.

As hedwards alluded to, for some, having a disc is DRM.

For me, DRM with a physical copy starts when I need anything other than what came in the box to play the game.

You can checkout Indiebox's store, but the selection is pretty limited, and diminishing as titles get sold out:
https://store.theindiebox.com/
Just double-check any game that you're interested in to make sure that it really does come with a DRM-free installer.

Otherwise, is there a particular reason you are looking for physical releases? DRM-free physical games were the exception and not the rule even back in the day. Most releases included copy protection in one form or another. I'm making digital backups of all my physical games, and DRM has gotten in the way of almost every game, before I even get to getting the game to run properly on a modern OS. =\

I seem to remember Puzzle Quest being DRM-free.

Should have clarified in my post huh? My Definition of DRM free is no steam client required. I found Witcher 3 but from the sounds of it I'd need to spend a few hundred in upgrades to be able to run it.

Edit: Nevermind, Armello in its DRM free state is missing 2 DLCs plus updates.

Many old games forced you to put the disc in the physical drive.
Some games have no-disc crack already, some others still need a disc to run.

Those disc-protection methods are not reliable.
Many people bought official game box and get non-playable discs.

To me, they are as evil as today's DRM.

If you like Strategy games, Matrix/Slitherine have physical* DRM-lite** games on their store.

*: you have to pay $10 more than the price for the digital game, there are 3 kinds of packaging depending of the game (and you still own the digital game):
Express (box, CD/DVD, but no manual)
Standard (box, CD/DVD, b&w manual)
Collector (box, CD/DVD, manual in colours)
If you already purchased the game but only digital, there are upgrades available for boxed copy.

**: the only copy protection is a CD Key "printed" in the disc, no need to have the disc inserted in drive except for install, no online activation, registration is only needed if you want to download beta updates.

And if you don't mind Steam (I know, I know, you said you didn't want it), a Steam key for some games available can be asked.

Sometimes, I would have loved to see GOG doing something like that.


I assume there are regular and collector's german boxed copies available on Amazon.de (IIRC, Shadow Tactics is DRM-free)

GOG do have similar services, but only limited to 8 games now.
https://www.gog.com/reclaim
https://www.gog.com/witcher/backup
https://www.gog.com/connect (time-limit free copies sync from Steam account)

Eador: Genesis
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky
Mount & Blade: With Fire & Sword
Mount & Blade: Warband
The Witcher
The Witcher2: Assassins of Kings

If I recall correctly, Wing Commmander 2, Red Baron and Duke3D for starters.

(By DRM-free, I mean there was no manual keyword checks either.)

I'm sorry, I wasn't very explicit, I was thinking about the whole business model (to me Steam keys were dispensable when such DRM-lite exists, but here again, the "No Steam No Sale" crowd was very loud to force Slitherine to provide Steam keys).
I was thinking more specifically about the "print-on-demand" boxes.

If you can locate the Ultima Collection, the game in that collection (Ultima 1-8) are DRM-free. Of course, you could just buy these games from GOG (total cost $24, or *significantly* less if you wait for a sale), but it is an option if you'd rather have the games on a CD-ROM. One downside is that the installers use XCOPY, which DOSBox does not include, so you will have to copy the games yourself, but they work fine (well, except maybe Ultima 2, where you will need to lower the cycles to prevent a division by zero error).

I could point out that Ultima 6 and 7 do have copy protection questions (though it is possible to use the cheat menu to bypass them, or in 6 to trick the game into thinking you already answered them correctly).

Some developers provide patches that remove the DRM but usually years after release.

You'll have fun finding a DRM free disc. If it's not securom, GFWL it has a activation code and those go back to the '80s.