I may be missing the point of the OP entirely, but while everything stated is a reasonable complaint, I don't believe it's the reason new users don't sign up for a GOG account. Mostly because the bulk of those issues won't become apparent until you already have an account and are using GOG.

In my own, personal opinion only, the reasons why GOG doesn't draw in new users are

1) The bulk of new games don't come here, or only come here much later than Steam
2) Steam was first to market, and most users don't see any reason to change storefronts now/buy from multiple stores
3) Historically games on Steam went on deeper discounts than GOG, though that may have changed since I left
4) Most users don't notice or care about DRM, and GOG doesn't offer any other distinguishing reason to choose them over another service
5) Their friends/family are using Steam, and they want to be on the same platform

You need to get a large userbase to get most developers/publishers to even consider releasing their games here, but you won't get a userbase without those games. It's a catch-22 that I can't see GOG (or anyone else) overcoming.

Epic seems to be trying to solve this problem by throwing money at it in the way of free games. Even that won't solve the problem if Epic can't eventually convert those people into paying customers, and judging from what I have read, Epic isn't making any money off their store yet, and may not be for quite a while.

I don't think that's really a methodology to have ever proven to work. But certainly drop a line to CDPR.

Yup.

LoL cLIenTs ArE maLwARe

I want to point out how true this is for average steam users. Most do not care about DRM or even know about it. I had to explain to my friend why I picked GOG over Steam, but he still could not understand it. There is also one thing people are missing, and Steam has a massive number of players who only play MP. So if the game has MP, you will probably choose Steam over GOG any day of the week.

The problem that I always encounter whenever I explain why I prefer GOG is that people believe that Steam can never die. They can't fathom that every business eventually makes way for other businesses. Or when they do, they label me paranoid anyway for wanting to preserve my library.

"Just use Galaxy (tm)" is hardly a serious substitute for fixing website problems. Aside from the obvious fact there is no Galaxy for Linux, and ignoring the endless stream of "Galaxy's x feature is broken" threads created on an almost weekly basis (which I'm pretty sure are clogging up GOG's support system to such a degree that they hardly have any time left to support actual games), the website is literally the first thing newcomers to GOG will run into before they've even signed up / bought their first game and first impressions count. Yet another 'cart before the horse' solution to a problem which other websites with website problems would have fixed by... actually fixing the website...

The current state of things is sad enough as it is, throwing a Galaxy vs Website/Installers war into this will not resolve anything... all of those need attention.

Indeed... both are so neglected right now that neither stands as a phenomenal option - if only we had a website that didn't have many issues and a client (or a downloader) that also wasn't falling apart every now and then... oh wait, we sort of used to have that at one point...

Hey, I have an idea: just tell new users to suck it up and use Galaxy. Problem solved guys! XD

Well, on the bright side, Steam launcher is also a piece of crap that wasn't updated in last five years in a meaningful way. Just recently I started using it after a long pause and it is as inconvenient as I remember it. Literally zero changes. The mobile app probably even got worse.

Honestly, I wish GOG concentrate on offline installers rather trying push to Galaxy in a attempt to be Steam-lite.

Yeah but the Tiktok-addicted kid who will buy Cyberpunk half-price and never spend another cent on this platform is the most important customer for a niche store to have, so expecting them to be able to use a browser and download something other than the Galaxy client itself is just being unreasonable.

Without having "deep pockets" to attract AAA titles with an aversion to DRM-free releases...

... how do you attract new customers to GOG?

I'm not certain, but...

(just in case GOG is listening... however unlikely)

... I know it isn't by having a broken and limited store experience...

... or...

... by having broken offline installers and broken clients (Galaxy)...

... or...

... by having extremely long waits for support (my last support request was NEVER answered... 3+ weeks)...

... or...

... by releasing asset flips (recent).

If GOG wants to be a boutique storefront experience, then make it a boutique experience... with all of the individual customer care, exclusive offers, unique extras, and carefully hand-picked catalogue. Carry fewer but higher quality games. Great. But don't half-a@# it...

... and...

... currently this store feels half-a@#$!

As I've said in the past, I have friends whom I want to introduce to GOG, but I haven't. Why? Because they don't have nearly the patience I do for the "shenanigans" here... and they would run back to Steam in 2 seconds flat, never to return. They see Steam and DRM are just the cost of gaming. So I wait... and wait... for GOG to clean things up here...

... but...

... it sadly feels like it's getting worse.

GOG, for what it's worth, a number of us wouldn't post here unless we cared about this platform. Most of us want you to succeed... but... it's not feeling good ATM. It's like we waited to a decade and finally got Skyrim... but everything around it (the store) fell apart. *sigh*

Pedro says hi.

Just stop developing and pushing Galaxy. Make the GOG Downloader great again. Fix the site bugs; I say even forget the forum for a bit and make sure the store functions like a store should with proper support, wishlists, ignore function and library.

If someone in GOG's userbase inexplicably wants to buy from GOG and still want a client, just team up with those platforms that must not be named and sell their keys that activate and work on their clients.