SOURCE_OF_TRUTH: I would much prefer it if this situation here was discussed in a more civil way. I have been with GoG a long time, my catalogue of purchases here is endless. I have gifted GoG games to random strangers and received some in return. I love this platform and what it stands for.
Personally, I am of the opinion that
Hitman is a brilliant game too, marred by a ridiculous online-drm as-is.
Therefore, as much as I would like to avoid it,
I strongly oppose the inclusion of this game in its current state into the GoG store but I also fail to understand how insulting others and the staff makes any sensible contribution here.
Removing the game from the store is one option, an even better outcome would be if this situation finally triggers the implementation of a proper offline mode into the Hitmen experience (all three games). All of this can the stated, including the fact that the game "does not belong here".
But degrading support staff and everyone else is not helping.
Obviously, this is the internet and it is full of hate but that is simply not productive and not helpful.
The people reading these forums and posting replies were certainly not involved in the decision to release this on GoG. They do not deserve your hate. Releasing this game is was a mistake but mistakes happen and can be rectified.
I would immediately purchase this game if the offline experience was a proper one.
I mean this is not true. Your community team know what is being released, weeks or months in advance. Additionally, a google search brings you the info you need to why Hitman could be an issue. From there, you can pose the question or at least prepare for the incoming backlash. This was seemingly not the case. The game was signed, made to work, marketed and then released. That's a lot of people and departs to go through.
it took nearly 3 days for a statement, only for the statement to include no admission of the problem being of their causing (or indeed choosing) and instead pointed at consumer for 'review bombing' (I assume they was done to try and levy some level sort of finger-pointing t angry users as the bad guy or a complete disconnection from your users and the modern market).
You have to ask yourself how little care is being applied here. Was there no research done into the game? Why was there no preparation for something that would CERTAINLY happen? Why were both communications not only poor but incorrect, causing more problems and anger?
Community management isn't hard if you pay the users you are work with a bare level of respect and have a bare basic interest in what you are doing with and around them.
This 'DRM-Free' release is the result of multiple failures, a fair amount of lack of care and quite possibly a shovel of aggorance. You can't build your house of DRM-FREE (while also being aggressive about it) only to then embrace it and expect no reaction.
Don't harass staff, don't insult them, but absolving those whose job it is to understand their users, what their users want, what you are selling to their users and why your users want it is vital. Just as vital as communications. It;s not just about posting a meme and kicking back.
GOG was built on the back of DRM-Free and preservation. They've done a great job of that, but recent moves have betrayed both of those aspects. Their wording and reasons for both have always pointed the finger else where even when the hand is firmly in the cookie jar. There's a glimmer of hope maybe they'll understand the problems and make moves to fix them. GOG was great, could still be great, could be better, but without some level of self-reflection it's just turning into another storefront with less to offer.
No one here wants GOG to sink. But things like Devotion and Hitman don't happen randomly, there are clearly fundamental issues within leading to these events happening
