Haha, yes, most steam users won't realise that they have only purchased a license to play the game, which can be withdrawn at any time. As there is no DRM-free option, the steam client simply won't let users play the games if that were to happen, even if they've been downloaded.

Granted, I don;t think this happens frequently on steam, but it is perfectly legal for them to lock users out of playing certain games whenever they want, for however long they want, even indefinately. Not good really, as I said earlier, turns PC gamers into Valve's b*tches.

Think that's why I'll stick with GOG where I can, despite the second class citizen issues.


I'm frequently concerned about whether I should be concerned. Should I be concerned about that? ;-)

Good idea about waiting for updates before purchasing. Patience is a virtue and all that...

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I recently noticed a game which was only updated in the Galaxy version. So it seems like the Galaxy and non-galaxy versions must be updated one at a time. The more bother it is to update a game, the less likely it is that the devs will go through the trouble.

And the other way around too. Supporting GOG means time (=money) for devs. If the sales here don't "repay" the effort (and long time thinking about reputation doesn't concern) GOG support might be axed simply for economic reasons.

It's really just another version of "the devil always shits on the biggest pile".

What you can do is:
- buy matured versions and not day-one releases (at least not from devs without a good GOG track record)
- buy big games (like PoE or Dying Light and stuff) because likely for them supporting multiple platforms is more affordable and also they care more about professionalism than 2-people-indie studios.
- buy classic games (no better place with support for them than here)

I've wrestled with this same issue so many times. I think things are getting a tad better, though... I've noticed several games in my library finally got updates that no one thought they'd ever see... don't know if that was GOG prodding them or the community barking at the devs/publishers. But the more momentum GOG gets, I think these kinds of discussions will happen less and less. I still buy here over Steam and use Steam for everything I can't get here just because I like the Galaxy client over Steam... it's a breath of fresh air over Steam for me... well designed, toggle features globally and per game and all that.

But I won't lie and say it's all peachy... I've had to nag some developers to update the GOG build... not afraid to do it and it works... World to the West got updated after a year cause I kept pestering (the really nice) dev and he was totally cool with it... even gave me beta access on GOG to try the build out before it went live.

Also, THQ games are pretty rock solid... they're always on top of updates... lot of the bigger new games I have zero issues with.

And listen to timppu... he's calmed me down more than once when I was in rage mode over a game not getting updated ;)

I share your resolve too. :D I joined GOG to support their ideals and their vision for gaming. I wasn't aware of this updating issue until I saw your post. But it does not change my resolve. ;) Great post Rob, by the way! So many great comments in here and so many awesome posters.

I despise DRM but I also don't want a game that's filled with (potentially game-breaking) bugs, poor performance, missing content, etc.
Ideally developers would just update their games on GoG; it can't possibly take that much effort...

It is a matter of opinion, as someone might be fine with playing with his friends online, or the smaller playerbase. And many Steam games are or become quite fast ghost towns as well, as there are only so many online games in which people dedicate their time.

Also, I was under the impression that some Galaxy games offer crossplay, but I am unsure how (well) it works.

But in general I agree that if you are into online multiplayer games on public servers, Steam versions are probably a much safer bet. I say "probably" because my online gaming is restricted 100% to Team Fortress 2 (which in itself just underlines what I said before: people tend to dedicate their online gaming only to one or few games at a time, maybe even for years), so I am assuming so. But then, I am sure Gwent players are fine being restricted only to GOG.

Anyway, do you have any suggestion what GOG should do? Stop selling games on GOG which have a multiplayer part? Start selling Steam keys instead? What? The situation is what it is, I am happy I don't personally care for multiplayer parts of games I buy (and I didn't buy TeamFortress 2, ok I bought one 50 cent item on it for getting a bigger inventory...).

Unfortunately, it seems to be an acceptable business practice in gaming to sell incomplete products as complete.

Imagine if they pulled that kind of crap with anything else.