Why are offline downloads still broken down into 4gb files? Operating systems have supported 4gb+ files for years. It would be nice for offline installers to have larger files vs so many 4gb files to download. Baldur's Gate 3 for example is 32 files to download.

Because a lot of people still suffer limited bandwidth and speeds in the world (for just one sane reason).

Also, it's meant to "Encourage" people to use Galaxy.

Cattle prod vs carrot.

On a more serious note, GOG's installers could work like self-contained, self-correcting trackers if they had the grunt to make the installers worthwhile.

I don't know for certain, but I think it might be kind of a legacy code sort of thing. SD cards, which were really common ways to share files in the past, had a 4 gig limit on the file size if it was formatted with the FAT32 format. You can theoretically format an SD card with a different file system to get around that 4 gig limit, like NTFS. But that doesn't always work as well between different OS' And ultimately it would be one of those things that going through to redo every single installer to be one file is not going to be worth anyone's time.

So that the installers are still usable on FAT32 file systems I guess. Being able to install the games on retro PCs without this blocking it is a good thing I'd say. Mostly relevant for games from around 2005-2010, which could exceed 4GB in size, but came out at a time when Windows XP and such was still pretty widespread.

Yep, being able to put them on FAT32 is one thing.
But also, if there's an error, you just need to redownload one file, not the whole thing.
And if the connection's slow, you can get some files one day, some another and so on until you finish, being able to actually complete something in a session.
And for huge games and those with a metered connection, it may even be a matter of getting part of the files one month and another part the next, so without the split they may be completely out of luck.

In fact, thinking of Linux users, one problem for them that the installers are not split, so they can run into all those issues.

Surely you have been around long enough to see the many threads about this, and so discovered your own answers. Or if not, then a search would have provided.

A lot of what the others have said is true.

Then there is the fact that GOG uses InnoSetup to create their offline installer files. InnoSetup has a default limitation of 2 GB files, but GOG has some kind of arrangement with them, that produces 4 GB files instead ... be grateful.

Beyond that it is all about server storage costs and supporting as many customers as possible.

Aside from all that, my own personal belief, is that huge files are idiocy. There are many reasons to consider them that, and this isn't Texas, where everything just has to be bigger. Smaller is better ... to a point.

P.S. Dealing with 4 GB files is not onerous, unless you make it that way.

P.S.S. And yes I know that Mac and Linux files available here are often much bigger than 4 GB, sometimes hugely so ... what a pain. It just goes to show you how much GOG cares about Mac and Linux gamers. ;) ;)

Huh. I didn't notice that the installers aren't split for Linux versions of big games.

But I can definitely say the split installer arrangement does help for when I have a corrupt file. The installer will helpfully point out which files are broken so you'd have to go redownload those files. (Pro tip: never rely on Android MTP for any file transfers, the files can be copied broken and it can also break your SD card, ugh)

I prefer having the games segmented, especially the larger ones, as it makes dealing with any potential corrupted downloads much more managable.

Ideally they'd offer both options, a single big installer file and 4GB parts, but that would require twice the space for every game on their end, so 4GB is the way to go for compatibility's sake

The answer is like always: 42.

On a more serious note - the answer is: because of the FAT32 file system.

Because backward compability is a huge advantage to have.

I was going to write basically an identical post, before I saw yours :)

I would just like to add in general, that due to the reality of the atrocious vanilla-GOG-offline-installer experience (i.e. clicking on 24 files to separately download them!), 3rd party tools are basically mandatory to keep sane. Begging the question - why can't GOG implement something more convenient, considering we are paying them a 30% cut?

At the very least, why don't those 3rd party tools receive more exposure, thanks to GOG? Hell, even a pinned thread on this dying forum would be something.

And before anyone says "but Galaxy!" - Galaxy is only for Windows and Mac and not everyone uses it even if not on Linux, for various reasons.

Anyways, lgogdownloader is a great batch downloader.

After buying The Talos Principle 2 I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the offline Installer for that game is a single 77GB file.
So I guess the limit isn't universal anymore.