I purchased Alan Wake yesterday. GoG had the game for 15 dollars which also came with 25% off the upcoming expansion. Naturally I was stoked to get such a great deal for a game that has been praised pretty heavily.

Well, Alan Wake is advertised everywhere as a Steamworks game. Steam has it and if you purchase from Amazon.com the game requires Steam activation so I assumed when I bought through GoG the game would also have the option for Steam support/activation.

I was wrong. I purchased the game and I awaited an email much like what Amazon sends within a few seconds of a purchase. No email at all came...not even one confirming that I made a purchase. I was confused by this. During this time I was on the page which had the download files. There were quite a few and I clicked the one file that was 10 megs or so and then another file that was less than that. I canceled both downloads and I never touched any of the larger files at all.

After doing some searching on the forums I noticed there was a thread with a person who had the exact same problem as me...they assumed Alan Wake would have a key that you could indeed activate on Steam. As the thread progressed it was determined that the game does not have any such key with GoG. Upon reading this I sent in a support ticket no less than a few minutes after purchasing the game asking if I could have a refund due to me wanting Steam support.

I got an email back today and all it said was:

"Hello

According to our logs game was already downloaded. In that case I'm afraid I'm not able to offer you a refund.

Regards
JuriJ
GOG.com Support"

It didn't include a ticket number, the problem...anything. It also didn't include the fact that I never clicked any of the large 2gb links AND i submitted the ticket within a few minutes after I bought the game.

I naturally responded to this email and the person responded back stating something about how GoG doesn't actually keep track of what has actually been downloaded (or apparently when) but just that a single link was clicked...which I believe I explained in my original ticket (which I can't review since it was never sent to me). They also stated that they would have to use a "spy program" to track my download which is ludicrous since GoG would definitely keep logs with metrics/statistics for downloads.

Regardless, I am extremely unhappy with my first and now last experience with GoG. Shoddy support, no information on download pages, no warnings, no company logging to help support staff, an inability to read time stamps on support tickets compared to downloads and last no integrity as a company.

I didn't want my money back. I said that many times. I simply wanted the option to activate a Steamworks title on Steam. I'd even have taken credit with the store if that wasn't possible and not have thought twice about it.

I fully expect this thread will be deleted or be trolled by people who say things like "if you wanted DRM then buy on Steam" etc. Yes, I do understand I still have access to the game and I have a library on GoG.com but I don't get any of the other services that comes with a Steamworks game and DRM like Steam does not bother me in the slightest.

Anyway, good night to everyone. I hope you have a better experience than I just did.


This was the thread I was talking about from yesterday. I posted in it shortly after I made my purchase then made a support ticket directly after making that post. http://www.gog.com/en/forum/alan_wake/will_i_get_a_steam_key_with_my_purchase

GOG has never offered Steam keys, ever. They are DRM free and make very explicit about the service they offer. You still have the option to actually play the game you purchased. This isn't even a case of caveat emptor or some sort of shady, but technically legal, bait and switch. You're literally complaining that GOG did exactly what they said they would: sell you a digital copy of a video game with no DRM and unlimited downloads.

The GOG copy doesn't actually have Steamworks in it, that's sort of the point.

And finally, you may get trolled, but I've never been aware that GOG has deleted any thread that was being critical of them. The only things they delete are spam threads (and porn if it's posted).

"Hey guys, I bought a game on GamersGate, why can't I get the same game on GOG? this is a ripoff!"

OP should see the attached image and the reason why I posted in this thread

The mistake that you made was thinking that, because other distributors advertised the game as a Steamworks game, gog's version of the game, which has never been advertised as a Steamworks game, and which was clearly described as being DRM-free, was also a Steamworks game.

I guess that is an easy mistake for you to make, but it certainly isn't gog's fault.

It's a shame for you that you will not be using gog again. There are some great games here, I have never had any problem with support or getting information on games prior to purchasing them.

All the best in the future.

I'm sorry, but I find that story extremely hard to believe.

Someone who knows GOG would have known that GOG only sells DRM-free games.

Someone who doesn't know GOG would have spent a fraction of a second to actually look at the product that he bought (in a shop he doesn't know much about), and would have discovered the info "DRM-FREE" that's slapped across the offer - several tim,es, actually, because that's a selling point for lots of people (as can be seen in the release thread).

Someone who cares about Steam so much that he can't live without would have either bought the game on Steam itself, or at least checked offers of other shops with a minimum of attention (and more wouldn't have been necessary).

On top of that, you complain about not getting a refund from a shop that sells all its products DRM-free, _after_ downloading the game. How do you suppose this would work? Are you telling them "Well, I know I downloaded the game, and I now could play it as much as I want and on as many machines as i want for as long as I want, and you can never take it away from me, but I want my money back anyway"? (Yes I realize that you didn't ask for money directly, but that's the only way you possibly _could_ get a Steam key).

I'm sorry. I can't believe that anybody would actually behave that way. I rarely say this, but I'll take this thread as a hint that Steam marketing has become aware of GOG as a competitor ... which is a good sign. :)

Sorry to hear about this issue. Unfortunately there's not much that can be done at this point, since you did, after all, purchase the product under a mistaken assumption without having inquired first. Buying a product online, especially an intangible one, should be done with more precaution. Caveat emptor, and all that. If anything, this should be a lesson to be more careful with your next purchase, whether it's on GOG or elsewhere. I hope it doesn't deter you from buying again from GOG.

There in no mention of Steamworks on either the game card or the official announcement here on GOG Bingo.... If you weren't going to download the game at the time why did you click on any of the files ?

You say in the other thread that you want to support GOG, but you're quick to claim they have no integrity and blame them for some choices *you* made.

I don't see how GOG loses integrity over your mistaken assumption that this was a Steamworks version. (A mistake I can imagine someone making though, but it's still your mistake).

rofl @ the fast low rating, despite the OP having done his best to explain his position in a decent fashion I think. (although the topic title could've been better put I agree.

Why blame GOG for your mistake? You assumed it was Steamworks and it was not, it was never stated by GOG that it was and it clearly states on the Alan Wake page what you get and the system requirements. How can they give you your money back or give you a steam copy when they are not affiliated with Steam? You bought it and clicked on the download and now you realize you messed up and instead of owning up to your mistake you say that the company made the error. I am sorry you didn't get what you wanted but GOG fulfilled their end of the deal.

If GOG had released it as a Steamworks title I would have questioned their integrity, as would a large number of their customer base. The very fact that they managed to wrestle a steamworks title into a DRM-free / Steam-free title and sell it is a major accomplishment to the credit of their value system. Saying otherwise is something of a statement of ignorance in the understanding of what GOG attempts to stand for. Which is not intended to be insensitive, but matter of fact.

Given that Steam is so nested into the gaming experience that people are making blind assumptions that Steam should be a given, I would say the world needs more of this.

Well, that sucks, and I'm not saying this to be mean, but when it comes to buying something digitally, never assume anything, and especially not that two different/competing sites are going to automatically complement/reciprocate purchases or conduct them in exactly the same way.

GoG doesn't send emails or have keys. You don't need keys because there's no DRM. You buy the game, download the files, install, and play. You don't have to register anything. There's no point in them sending an email to say "You have just purchased this game" - unless you just want an email telling you you just bought a game.

I also don't think it's necessary for GoG to have to say "If you buy this here, you can add it to your Steam library but this is a GoG purchase, not a Steam purchase, and there may be a difference."

I don't see anything on the Alan Wake website that says "This is a Steam/Steamworks game". Sure, down at the bottom, there's icons for "XBox 360, PC, XBox Live Arcade, and Steam", but that's just advertising/letting you know how it's available. Of course Steam is going to be listed because it's one of the big players.

But I checked the Alan Wake website, and reviews, and I don't see anything that says "This is a Steamworks" game. The game is put out by Remedy; Steam is the distributor. It's not a "Steam game and therefore any other place that sells it will be doing it exactly how we do it."

Again, don't assume. That's my best (and not mean) advice. If you want a "Steam" game buy from Steam; don't buy it elsewhere and then be shocked that it's not what you wanted.

To be fair, he did indicate that he emailed support only minutes after purchasing the game. Alan Wake's a fairly chunky game, so it'd have been impossible to download it within that timeframe.

And while the err is on his part for not paying attention to what GOG's about, and what it makes abundantly clear about itself -- DRM-free games -- I don't think his issue here is too unreasonable:

He bought a game, saw he was mistaken on what he would get, and immediately filed a support ticket, thinking that GOG support would take into account the purchase time, correlate it with the time the ticket was filed + their content server download metrics, in the hopes of getting a refund.

I can't really comment on GOG's response to the matter, since I don't know all the variables or all their policies. But fundamentally, I don't see a whole lot wrong with his issue.

I only clicked it and saw the download file come up and canceled. That's all I did. Because of this I can not be refunded my money despite the fact that I did not download any full files or any other files at all.

Also, to the people saying "it's clearly stated as being DRM free". http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/alan_wake

Do a search for DRM on that page. There isn't a mention about it and naturally one would assume that a Steamworks title actually allows for the option to activate on Steam.

I knew I would be trolled by people defending GoG's actions though. I read that GoG had a good deal on Alan Wake on the Steam forums. I looked up and made sure the game was a Steamworks title and even checked Amazon to ensure that their page said "requires steam to activate" (which is how I bought Deus Ex HR). My mistake was not knowing that GoG stripped out all the Steamworks integration...I did not know that nor was it stated on the Alan Wake page.

My point is I made the purchase and realized my mistake within a couple of minutes. I not only posted in a thread about the same problem but also issued a support ticket immediately. Sure, you can call me an idiot for not knowing about GoG's no DRM policy but I've never shopped here before...honestly I had only heard good things but nothing in regards to policies. But that has little to do with the fact that I immediately asked them for assistance and was denied in an unprofessional manner by their support staff with none of my concerns I raised in the ticket answered.

I'm sure you trolls will keep harping on the fact that I didn't know what GoG was and completely ignore the intent of this thread though...have at me I guess.

I doubt that GOG support can check this. Usually there's a simple "downloaded" flag for game, which gets set as soon as any download of the game has begun. GamersGate handles it that way, and I'd wager that Steam does so too.

It might be possible for some technician / server admin to wade through the logs and determine whether a game had been downloaded completely and successfully, but that's really nothing that can be expected from any support team of a digital download shop. How many shops do you know that spend hours of data tracking, and go against their own terms of service, when the potential reward is losing a purchase? ;)

Also, for the actual request ("I want a Steam key for a game I bought on GOG, the one strictly DRM-free digital download shop on this planet!"), it doesn't even matter if the product was fully downloaded, that's a ridiculous request no matter how you slice it.