This is an important point to bring up. There does in fact appear to be offline mods for both Hitman 2 and Hitman 3. I didn't see one for Hitman GOTY, but if there are offline mods available for 2 and 3 then there shouldn't be a technical hurdle that is preventing IOI from removing the online requirement.

Maybe the ideal solution here is for IOI to finish waiting out their dumb EGS exclusivity period for Hitman 3 and then releasing a Hitman: World of Assassination Complete Edition on GOG which is basically offline-modded Hitman 3 bundled with the legacy packs for 1 & 2?

I was wondering, if HITMAN GOTY is pretty much identical to the Steam version and GOG doesn't seem to have anything against it, why wait years to release it here? Why not also release HITMAN 2 while you're at it?

GOG is being beaten twice, by IOI that doesn't want to release its games at the same time as the other platforms and depriving GOG of substantial earnings, and then by its customers who rightly don't want a game with DRM on the platform.
I can't think of a more idiotic decision than this.

Don't ask them to stand by their values, demand that they keep their promises.

Values change, people naturally change their views. What should not change are commitments, at least not onesidedly. We stood by -- some enthusiastically, some with shifty eyes, some with shaking fists -- when they dropped the secondary clauses of the site's previously very explicit contract, purportedly to preserve its main reason for being.

This should not be about asking favors. If they don't honor the one remaining clause, they're straight-up frauds.

This is a grotesque mistake by GOG management. You are doing irreversible damage to the brand just to sell one game. And it's a pointless move. Steam is the superior service platform. The only reason to buy on GOG is games being DRM-free. You remove that and you are effectively killing the website.

This is a very good point. In doing this, GOG is settling for the worst of both worlds. They are technically inferior and have later releases than Steam and they are also jettisoning their one remaining unique selling point and the reason many people were shopping on GOG in the first place.

I fear this move is going to position them in a very dangerous 'no-mans-land', where they simply have nothing special to offer and increasing numbers of people will leave. If the management can't see or understand that, then quite frankly the only thing that can save GOG, imo, would be a complete change of leadership.

What the f**k, GOG? What is wrong with you?

Who thought it would be a GREAT idea to insult your customers with this embarrassing DRM'ed piece of shit release? Do you even realize that CDP as a company is not blessed with a particularly good image at the moment? How come you easily manage to make it worse and on the other hand there's virtually NOTHING to make up for it?

Oh, this is no DRM you say? So what exactly makes a game proven “DRM-free” in YOUR opinion? Is 50% single-player offline playability already DRM-free enough, or is 75% required? Your excuse is bullshit and you know it! There is NO such thing as being partially DRM-free. It's either free or it's not.

Even when you decided that you couldn't care less for Linux users, I still kept defending the store, because DRM-free games are THAT much important to me. When GOG really decides to slowly turn into a pathetic, dirt-cheap Steam clone without Linux support, I will simply buy my games on Steam then.

Remove this game from the store. OR remove your DRM-free stance, if you don't want to keep it up.
And don't you dare remain all silent about this issue again. Communicate with your customers!

See my post here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_free_on_steam_vs_gog_poll/post68

I don't really expect my boycott to succeed in changing GOG's trajectory, but before I began it, I felt disgusted with myself for buying here, and now I don't.

As for buying at deep discount. I have always done that, but even with deep discounts GOG games are several times more expensive than steam games (with bundles). And now that I know I do not need the steam client for downloading/installing/playing steam games, I am no longer willing to pay the huge difference for GOG games that might or might not DRM-free, might or might not be up-to-date, and sure to receive poor customer service.

Well they removed the Hitman banner and replaced it with Sable, I don't think they have ever done that before after only 24 hours from the release, especially with a game from a much smaller company.

Resist and fight against DRM, which should never infiltrate GOG store.

I'm at the point where I have next to no faith in IOI to do anything. Again, five years down the line and they never bothered putting proper offline for 2016, 2, or 3 when people know they can rework the Mastery System to save on a local file. Hell, back in 2016, they did change it a bit so it was 100% online only to, "You can at least play with what you unlocked online, offline." They're just too lazy and incompetent when they know the small community around them will suck their dicks in desperation of AAA stealth games and, "muh independent company'" (who now have two studio locations and have literal access to the Bond IP right now). Hell, taking down the stupid servers and making Mastery offline would be cheaper.

So I'd say the ball is on GOG's court and unfortunately, part of me feels they'll try to sweep this under the floorboards. Hope I'm wrong.

i guess they did it because of the many, many bad reviews

Obi-Wan is in tears. You were supposed to destroy the DRMers, not join them.

This guy... Dying in a car again... First a dinosaur, now it catches on fire. Now I wonder how many roles like this he's had :D

But just like on that original thread, these games that don't require the client are mostly going to be shovelware and stuff that's already on itch.io. The main point that you don't get is a lot of people are here for the big games. Whether that's an AAA game that just had it's locks removed or popular indies, that's what they want.

If Fuzzy's Amazing Quest were up there on the banner yesterday instead of Hitman, most people would be confused or probably just avoid it. Because most people are not interested in Fuzzy's Amazing Quest. Even if it was released on Steam without needing the client. They wanted Hitman, and they wanted it DRM-Free for real. That's what people wanted.