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General discussionGOG 2022 update #2: our commitment to DRM-free gaming(543 posts)(543 posts)
(543 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted March 17, 2022
Thanks for all the feedback you gave us after the previous update. You’re awesome and it shows the GOG insights piques your interest. Today’s article is about a topic that we know is very important to you – our commitment to DRM-free gaming and what it exactly means.

GOG was built on trust, which is at the very core of our identity. It is evidenced by our 30-day refund policy or releasing games DRM-free, among other things. At the same time, we understand DRM-free might mean different things to different people, especially when modern games blend offline and online experiences.

When GOG first launched, the gaming market looked very different from what it is now – retail was the main place to buy games, and digital distribution was just taking baby steps. DRM, the copy protection software created to protect licenses against unauthorized disc copying, was a huge source of annoyance for gamers often restricting how they can access their content. From the beginning, part of GOG’s mission was to provide gamers with a simple way to access and play games, without the need to fiddle with files or deal with any DRM. Making sure you can play games purchased on GOG offline, make backup copies, and install them as many times as you need is even more relevant now, as things like game preservation become an important topic for the whole industry.

Today, while some of the most infamous DRMs of the past are thankfully long gone, it doesn’t mean the constraints are fully gone. They just have a different, more complex face.

Games are evolving and many titles offer features beyond single-player offline gameplay, like multiplayer, achievements, vanities, rewards. Many such games are already on GOG and will continue to join our catalog. But it also raises the question: is this a new frontier for DRM?

And this is the crux of the matter. Some think it is, some don’t. Some hate it, some don’t mind it. And to be fair, we didn’t comment on it ourselves for quite some time and feel this is the time to do so:

We believe you should have freedom of choice and the right to decide how you use, enjoy, and keep the games you bought. It manifests in three points:
1. The single-player mode has to be accessible offline.

2. Games you bought and downloaded can never be taken from you or altered against your will.

3. The GOG GALAXY client is and will remain optional for accessing single-player offline mode.


We fully commit to all those points. Aside from this, we reaffirm our continuous effort to make games compatible with future OSs and available for you for years to come.

As for multiplayer, achievements, and all that jazz – games with those features belong on GOG. Having said that, we believe that you have the right to make an informed choice about the content that you choose to enjoy and we won’t tell you how and where you can access or store your games. To make it easier to discover titles that include features like multiplayer, unlockable cosmetics, timed events, or user-generated content, we’re adding information about such functionalities on product pages. In short, you’ll always know.

We always took a lot of pride in the freedom we provide gamers. While we know DRM-free may have a different meaning to everyone, we believe you have the right to decide how you use, enjoy, and keep the titles you get on GOG. With games evolving towards adding more online features, we want you to understand our DRM-free approach and what it means to us. It is an important topic – let us know what you think.
Posted March 17, 2022
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SmollestLight: I understand your concerns, but we leave it up to publishers and developers if they want to give cosmetic rewards as an incentive for something, like signing up for their newsletter or in this case, using GOG GALAXY. While CDPR and GOG are in the same, they are separate companies, and in the end it's up to the developer to decide on the rewards.
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mqstout: This violates statement #1 of the original post.

1. The single-player mode has to be accessible offline.
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mqstout: If any parts of the single player mode are inaccessible entirely offline, the single player is not accessible offline. We would really appreciate you stopping from making excuses like this.
Bonus promotional items are not mandatory for offline play. Unless they are game braking or story crucial. At least that's how I see it.
Posted March 17, 2022
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MarkoH01: I have asked this question long time ago. Changelogs can only be added by GOG if they were provided by the devs which unfortunately often is not the case. So in case of missing changelogs you would have to adress the devs/publishers.
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§pec†re: Gog could have it as part of their contract to supply changelogs.
Right - they could. But the more you force in a contract the harder it is to get it signed and as useful changlogs are I am wondering if those would be worth to lose some contracts/games. Forcing them to update their games on the other hand is a different matter imo.
Post edited March 17, 2022 by MarkoH01
Posted March 17, 2022
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It is good that GOG is talking and taking action regarding this matter, but it seems too vague to my palate.

What is the single-player mode game? If textures require on-line activation and sound and a non-impossible boss require Galaxy, things could be OK under these statements.

And what about non-single-player stuff like hot seat or split screen? Can they be tied to Galaxy? Or removing LAN play so that Galaxy is the only option available?

Yes, I am looking for the most silly examples that I can think of. There is no technical reason to tie hot seat to Galaxy, but there is no technical reason to tie cosmetics either and we are seeing those.

I understand that GOG needs to adapt to the times if it wants to grow, but GOG's policy is made by GOG, not the publishers.
I hope the new information will be easy to filter and navigate. I wish GOGmixes were back.
Posted March 17, 2022
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Yeshu: not mandatory for offline play
Stop being daft and apologizing for bad company behavior. I like I said, there's NO WAY to draw the line in between anywhere but "all is fine to remove behind online gating" and "nothing is".

Viewing the ending is not mandatory. (see: stats that show just few people actually finish games)
Side quests are not mandatory. (see: Oblivion)
Voice overs are not mandatory. (see: how many people turn them off or set it to an unknown language)
Controller inputs are not mandatory. (see: all the games that don't have them)
Non-flat textures are not mandatory. (see: loads of flat-textured, low-poly games, such as Shores Unknown)
Music isn't mandatory. (see: many people turn it off anyway)
Optional party members aren't mandatory. (see: damned near any RPG)
Guns other than the starting weapon are not mandatory. (see: Hitman)
Classes are not mandatory (see: Grim Dawn, you can complete the game entirely without classes; or with only one of 2 allowed per character).
Leveling up isn't mandatory (see: Final Fantasy X's no sphere grid challenge).
Post edited March 17, 2022 by mqstout
Posted March 17, 2022
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Magnitus: Great to hear. This addresses a lot of the worries I've had.

Two things I'd also like:
- For multiplayer, it would be great if it could be clarified whether offline multiplayer is supported (ie, shared screen or LAN). While I understand the multiplayer is outside the scope of GOG's commitment (and control) with regard to it being drm-free, it would still be nice to make an informed decision about that as well
- An official supported way to manage offline installers at scale. The browser is not a scalable to manage your backups when you start having hundreds of games. If you don't wish to support a client that enables that important use-case internally, at the very least publish an official simpler api that third-party clients can interact with. Currently, the unofficial api is not only unofficial, but also grossly inefficient for everyone (for us and for the GOG servers)
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SmollestLight: Thanks for the suggestions! I will forward this to the appropriate team about the multiplayer part.
Since you're here, we need to talk. As I stated in another post, I spoke to a game dev who worked for a company that you partner with. You're selling the game he worked on here in the store. You're going to be selling the other part to that too. Regardless, he said that the decision to not add adult content filters on your store is reckless. I don't think a lot of devs and companies like this. As you know, I love Jast USA, MangaGamer, Kagura and all these companies. I've gone to Patreon to start supporting other adult creators in the west as well. But there's no reason this content should be visible on the front page of the store.

I'm not asking for censorship. I'm just asking for a prompt that will allow me to check yes or no on adult content, maybe an option in my profile settings:

"Show Adult Content?" Then of course have a checkmark box. By default, this should be on and then at users discretion, they can turn it off. This will avoid awkward conversations. It's really not that much to ask. When a game dev comes up to me and says, "yeah, this isn't a good thing" then it might be time to change it. I still plan to buy adult games here and will have the option checked, but others will not and it generally makes the page more consumer friendly.
Posted March 17, 2022
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Thank you, GOG, for sharing that. It's great news as far as I'm concerned! So, is there still a chance of the new Hitman trilogy finding its way here in some form in the near future? Please?

Also, this may be a little off topic, but I was wondering if in your effort to increase communication and transparency with your customers, you might also consider creating another noclip-type documentary, like the one from 2018? I absolutely loved it, and it gave great insight on the kind of struggles you deal with when approaching publishers and fixing games for re-release. Just a thought.

Looking forward to Update #3! (...and the new Hitman trilogy...:P)
Posted March 17, 2022
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mqstout: Stop being daft and apologizing for bad company behavior. I like I said, there's NO WAY to draw the line in between anywhere but "all is fine to remove behind online gating" and "nothing is".
And what it your solution, remove a 200+ hours games like X4 just because there is 4 ugly paint job, that you can get equivalent for free on Nexus mods, that requires you to connect online ?
Posted March 17, 2022
This is the last place we can breathe in the game world, please don't spoil this atmosphere.I don't use a Steam account because it feels like a social media platform, not a gaming platform Yes I know that many modern games won't arrive on the first day, but it makes me very happy that you have carefully selected indie games that you have added and expanded your classic library.As long as you keep focusing on quality, I'll be here.Always stay with this simple interface, forum culture, selecting and adding all the games, please do not compromise your quality.
Posted March 17, 2022
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Yeshu: not mandatory for offline play
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mqstout: Stop being daft and apologizing for bad company behavior. I like I said, there's NO WAY to draw the line in between anywhere but "all is fine to remove behind online gating" and "nothing is".

Viewing the ending is not mandatory. (see: stats that show just few people actually finish games)
Side quests are not mandatory. (see: Oblivion)
Voice overs are not mandatory. (see: how many people turn them off or set it to an unknown language)
Controller inputs are not mandatory. (see: all the games that don't have them)
Non-flat textures are not mandatory. (see: loads of flat-textured, low-poly games, such as Shores Unknown)
Music isn't mandatory. (see: many people turn it off anyway)
Optional party members aren't mandatory. (see: damned near any RPG)
Guns other than the starting weapon are not mandatory. (see: Hitman)
Classes are not mandatory (see: Grim Dawn, you can complete the game entirely without classes; or with only one of 2 allowed per character).
Leveling up isn't mandatory (see: Final Fantasy X's no sphere grid challenge).
You are doing some hard mental gymnastics here to make your point.

Why not go all in and claim players are not mandatory for a game to function?
Posted March 17, 2022
GOG,

there are still questions(and concerns)... as people more studied and versed on the subject have already stated...

... but...

... thank you for making a statement and opening dialogue.

Most of us are here because we BOTH want DRM-free content (ownership) and for GOG to prosper; we want this store to succeed... and we appreciate this communication that has sometimes felt missing is the past. Hopefully this can continue! Many thanks
Post edited March 17, 2022 by kai2
Posted March 17, 2022
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TheGrimLord: "Show Adult Content?" Then of course have a checkmark box.
Remember that the US is not the full world, in a lot of countries, for example in Europe, Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk are both adult content, there is no difference in classification between them and Evenicle they are all PEGI-18.
Posted March 17, 2022
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mqstout: This violates statement #1 of the original post.

If any parts of the single player mode are inaccessible entirely offline, the single player is not accessible offline. We would really appreciate you stopping from making excuses like this.
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Yeshu: Bonus promotional items are not mandatory for offline play. Unless they are game braking or story crucial. At least that's how I see it.
That's kind of a slippery slope. What is mandatory? Did Hitman include features that were mandatory for offline play? Technically speaking no but it still lacked so much features that it ruined the game for those that didn't want to play online hooked up to Galaxy.
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joppo: Gog is trying to communicate at least.

One thing I wanna point out however is that actions speak louder than words. If they want to make that message of commitment to DRM-free undeniably clear they could release the Cyberpunk2077 "My Rewards" items DRM-free in a free DLC not bound to Galaxy.

But I am pleasantly surprised by this, so much that I will temporarily suspend my boycotting position.
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SmollestLight: The in-game items received in Cyberpunk 2077 are purely cosmetic and in no way affect the single player experience of the game. However, we’re adding information about such functionalities on product pages. Therefore, you will always know in case a game includes them.
Will these changes make it any less or more likely that we'll see more premium games being offered on GOG? The quality releases have been pretty scarce since the whole Hitman debacle...
Post edited March 17, 2022 by Mjauv
Posted March 17, 2022
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I really appreciate that statement. Thank you. GOG will always be my first stop in digital game shopping. I will continue to support Galaxy as well. Not only for convenience but I just really love seeing ALL of my games on one owned list. (Now if only a game on that list could still be shown as owned on GOG product pages with Galaxy that would be stellar).

I personally have always thought DRM has a different standard, a lesser standard, when it comes to online multiplayer.

I can't really call myself an online multiplayer, rarely do I partake in that option or mode of games. So for me DRM was all about the hinderance of the single player experience and my access to my games in future when publishers or devs stop supporting the game or when they decided how many times I could install something.

I don't think it's fair for a player to agree to play on someone's server and then complain about how they run their servers or services..

Anyway, I just wanted to throw in my two cents and say that I have never felt that GOG had compromised their mission statement. In fact I would argue that GOG and digital sales are a very big part of why I don't have to deal with Securom anymore.

Thank you.
Posted March 17, 2022
On the matter of multiplayer, I think it'd be ideal to enforce DRM free multiplayer, as in, players can host their own games without using 3rd party services, which should be perfectly possible, even for MMOs.

And if GOG/CD Projekt think multiplayer using your own launcher's API is so important, at least request to the developers the option to have an alternative, so that whenever the multiplayer service from Galaxy inevitably gets shut down (all services do at some point), the multiplayer aspect of the game can still be enjoyed for as long as possible.

Also, on the matter of multiplayer and offline contents, please address the elephants in the room:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/page1
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/lists_games_that_need_galaxy_for_multiplayer_and_the_ones_that_dont/page1

And on the matter of supporting OS's, please address this:
https://twitter.com/GOGcom/status/1495670845334822912
Post edited March 17, 2022 by _Auster_
Posted March 17, 2022
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SmollestLight: I understand your concerns, but we leave it up to publishers and developers if they want to give cosmetic rewards as an incentive for something, like signing up for their newsletter or in this case, using GOG GALAXY. While CDPR and GOG are part of the same group, they are separate companies, and in the end it's up to the developer to decide on the rewards.
So why not just make everything DLC rewards?

I recall some games with DLC that were effectively starter pack updates for games, which took nearly no space and if you looked under the hood was just an update to your starting equipment which gave you a big boost to cut down grind for a mere $3.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/neptunia_virtual_stars_unlock_all_beattik_songs
https://www.gog.com/en/game/neptunia_virtual_stars_unlock_all_beattik_dances
https://www.gog.com/en/game/hyperdimension_neptunia_rebirth2_sisters_generation_dlc_pack
https://www.gog.com/en/game/hyperdimension_neptunia_rebirth3_v_generation_dlc_pack

Trying to find the other ones. I'm certain Agarest Generations of War had such packs but I'm not seeing them right now.


New Vegas for example had the Gun Runner's DLC you could purchase (which at present is included in the ultimate edition vs a separate thing now)
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Community
General discussionGOG 2022 update #2: our commitment to DRM-free gaming(543 posts)(543 posts)
(543 posts)