Keep it clean
If you believe that a wish duplicates another one or is not meant for the category, use Options button above to report a duplicate or spam.
Add your wish
If there is an item you wish to have on GOG.com and it’s not yet on the wishlist, please add your wish
Continue to provide offline installer executables
Added by
evethewhiterabbit Visiting the site again I was rather alarmed to find that the offline installers are called 'backups' and put away into a drop-down menu. For me, at least, these are primaries, not backups; I have no intention of using Galaxy at any point.
KillerQueem Hello GOG team,
I became a client of GOG because of the DRM-free offline installers. When I purchase a game, this reassures me that the game is actually mine and not a paid subscription which could be taken away at any minute. That is exactly why I am telling all my friends to start using GOG instead of other platforms like Steam and Epic Games.
The fact that the GOG Galaxy launcher is becoming more visible on the front page and in the games library is bothering me. Please make the launcher less visible and focus more on the offline installers, or make the offline installers equally highlighted with a large "DOWNLOAD" button similar to the GOG Galaxy download button.
Please do not call the offline installers "backups". You could make the following change - In the game download page, you could have 2 buttons "DOWNLOAD INSTALLER" and "DOWNLOAD WITH GOG GALAXY".
Please do not highlight GOG Galaxy so much.
Please continue to provide offline installers and make people feel like they actually OWN the games they purchased.
Thank you for your hard work!
johnukguy Is anyone at GOG actually paying attention to threads like this?
AtronicNewt On the gog website it should be as clear and visible to download the offline installer as it is for gog galaxy. Even though I largely use galaxy, offline installers are the backbone of the site and should always be provided as well being equally as visible. Just keep up the current work.
Towouya if you make it more annoying to get my games that I paid of I will simply go back to the waters on my ship.
asmohdeus galaxy is "just another client clutter" safe yourself the programming headaches and provide a good core service - that what made you famous.
Installer - w9x-w11
no DRM
no Online BS
no client BS
just games!
It is nice that you tried to make Galaxy a "consolidator for all Plattforms" but that only obfuscates the issue and also did not update at all new games so I had CustomerService delete the links since there was no option to do so myself....
again:
just games - no clientbs please
MatanKribus the ONLY and I mean ONLY reason I EVER SPENT A DIME on GOG, is because of the offline intallers. I can backup my OWNERSHIP of the copy of the game on my own machine.
this is what this platform is selling, remove that, and you will CRUSH OUT.
Thomberstone The offline installer is definitely a must. That's what I love about this GOG.
SunCe91 That's the best part about GOG and I think this should be better promoted.
Anunnaqui My Favorite Plataform Gaming Free DRM. s2
Thank you
drpetrov The reason I use GOG instead of Steam or other similar sites is because GOG does not require me to use their client. That's fantastic.
KALDOR_of_BREVLIN AGREED. keep the offline installers. and make sure the older version is clearly marked and won't automatically try to install NextGen version of game, I hate that.
Thank you
gamer781 I would love this feature
TacDyne Due to the poor decisions Larian made, BG3 is unplayable. Can't even start a new game because every avatar is just a naked black guy covering all of the option buttons. This didn't happen prior to patch 7. KEEP PREVIOUS VERSIONS AVAILABLE, or be prepared to deliver refunds when devs break games.
DevDoctor The installers will never go away, is the main selling point of the gog store, the games here are all DRM free. If you remove that option, they will lose almost everyone.
ssokolow The day the offline installers go away is the day I stop buying on GOG. Hell, I distrust corporate motivations in the long-term enough that I assume GOG will eventually do that and archive every purchase. (Granted, that's also partly so I can keep installers that are compatible with the Windows XP, Windows 7, Mac OS 10.6, and Mac OS 10.13 machines in my retro-hobby collection.)
reallynonessential The offline installers were relegated to a submenu a while ago, but I'll also add my 2 cents. The 'offline installers' are the reason I am so happy to continue purchase from GOG, why I have been a customer for so many years, and why I will continue buy games from GOG. What makes GOG so great is the lack of 1) per-game DRM software and a lack of an 2) "umbrella" DRM service software to install and maintain purchased software (whether or not it's DRM-free) and track customers. Other major game providers engage in something analogous to offers of vampirism or the T-virus, promising something at the cost of a curse (the T in "T-virus" stands for Trap).
Nawi915 The main reason why im using gog is beckause of the installers. Because i buy the game and not a livense to use it until the storefront decides to get rid of it. Tbh if that is removed i dont have any reason to use this storefront that has less and "older" games available than competitors
andreasaspenberg2 i support that. though they should put more data into the main executable, rather than having 2 smaller downloads.
Niax_Redesign I always love the idea of offline installer,one can backup it anywhere in cd,usb etc and so on,and all this is not always as easy as the way steam does
FrostMoonEcho I don't see any reason to buy Games on GOG if they don't have an offline installer. I'm tired of Steam, which deletes games and DLCs. Having an offline copy of the game is a real ownership to me.
infyrin The day that GOG ever has a thought to remove offline installer executables, is the day their DRM-free stance will be challenged. Offline installer executables are an essential part of what makes GOG...GOG.
It sucks knowing that if we lose our internet, we're basically losing access to all of our libraries since Steam and any other launcher relies on being online. They don't give us installers, they just hope we've had the games installed beforehand.
K9 Offline installers is THE ENTIRE REASON I signed up and started buying here. Once I download, nobody can stop me from playing it.
If "buying" isn't ownership (e.g. steam, subscriptions), then piracy is legal, and that's what I'll be doing.
rw9hkj8uu For the record, downloading from GOG Galaxy does not remake your Windows regestry records or other information for a new PC nor it saves space by compressing the game files. Some games like "Heroes of Might and Magic III" do require special records to make it work, otherwise it'll complain. In total, offline installers are very important and GOG Galaxy is not an equal.
AmericanWithAGun Just call them installers, that's what they are! Also, how is downloading a game from the website any more of a backup than using GOG Galaxy? This is going to confuse less savy users.
PIPXIll they have been in the same place in the UI for at least a year. I make regular updates to my offline installers and they are always in the same place.
SufferInc i 100% agree. i quite like galaxy, but it's also about the principle :)
Lobo_Audaz I hope they never remove that option. It's what makes GOG different and unique, besides the DRM-free games.
Siwkann I started buying gog games a couple weeks ago. I thought drop down, almost hidden offline installer were the norm.
I came to gog for the drm free offline features. I hope they highlight offline installers more. They should be proud for offering them.
WickedKinetic Absolutely agree with OP & other users on this. If GOG ever removes a major key part of why they are in business in the first place than you can kiss them goodbye & any potential game from ever being released DRM-free forever goodbye too. Offline installers is a legacy format that should be preserved like everything else.
Let's not forget, if anyone else can even step up to the plate in case GOG goes under with this catalogue they have.
adiaek This internet thing is getting old, boring, annoying and frustrating. Not all people have internet, and NOT all people want to be connected when playing a game on the computer. Internet is internet, and gaming is gaming.
I want to play the bought games off line as they were originally intended, not to be connected on the internet. Why would one want to be connected to the internet if playing a non-multiplayer game online? Seriously?
Internet connectivity is nothing but tracking and preventing people from enjoying games.
Steam, and other internet and DRM based, when they will go offline, all your catalog and games you bought there will also go "bye-bye"
blahblah.149 Please don't remove offline installers and become like Steam, thank you
mccgoga1001967 is this an issue at gog?, please please please gog dont remove offline installers , aaaarrrggg!!!
Markjons2 I Do not think offline installers will disappear from the site, Otherwise I will huddle into a corner with what I've already downloaded before, and some story books from storiescastle.com/ and will never, ever look at GOG again.
gregus70 Me too, my pc game is not internet connected (personal choice) and if offline installer is deleted, GOG lost a customer.
Plaid_Gloves If offline installers ever disappear from the site, I will huddle into a corner with what I've already downloaded and never, ever look at GOG again.
I have a very atypical gaming setup that includes a PC which does not have internet access. This means I NEED to be able to download the installers on a different machine and transfer them to my main with an external drive.
I realize that specific situation probably doesn't apply to anyone but me, but whatever. The fact is that GOG is the only reason I am able to play any game from the last fifteen years.
drpetrov The great thing about GOG is that unlike Steam, you don't have to install the stupid client. So the offline installers are the main reason I am here.
Whoddunnit Why is this post here? Are they thinking about removing it? What the hell?!
AlfaEdelPils Stop making stuff up and scaring people, they are not being removed, wtf are you talking about?
alpha6613 WHy is this thread here, do they want to change this feature? And become a 2nd "steam" or what? :)) No idea, but ofc this is a main reason to buy and d/l games here. Steam now sux I do not like their client at all, their site is ok I guess. And I bought games (2nd hand cheaply but still) on DVD (eg EmpireTW and Shogun2TW) which also need steam. Total BS it say small on the back of the package needs steam to "activate" (LOL why would a still buy physical media when it needs some internet service to play also now it seems steam ends support for Win7)... so guess yes keep this for sure. Sorry for the "steam rant" :P
OdNanKenobi Most certainly. Don't think they'd ever remove this, as it is a main feature. I don't mind calling them backups.
afaikafk If offline installers are gone, GOG is worthless, and I am definitely out. Do not remove offline installers, ever!
Paul.Rick92 These offline installers are essential because they allow us to keep safe backups of our games, so that we can install them without the need for an internet connection.
anarion321 Really don't care about a naming convention.
BenMcLean There is no problem with calling the offline backup installers backups or putting them behind a drop-down menu, as long as they're still there. I don't play CD Projekt Red's games but I strongly prefer buying other games on GOG because I want them to continue to work FOREVER. I want to show my grandkids when I'm in my 80s.
KordianTheViolet What's up with the bots?
vetra_gamer I had throw away $20 game I bought called 'counterstrike'. It required internet access to activate. After that, I found GOG. Even if the game has some form of data collection, It can't transfer any data if the internet is disconnected! Heh... DRM free is the way to be.
nuieo805798345 Errr the only reason I buy from GOG is the assurety of having to not being forced into updating to whatever patch is released for a game. Please retain major versions of games. Especially with regard moddability etc. I also don't want to have an online connection to play a game...
The games I have purchased on GoG are golden olds but recently I am repurchasing (SIGH*) some games I have in Steam that the development is taking strange turns and of course updates are enforced, there is no way around them which I find absolutely shameful. This is why I essentially stopped buying from Steamingpile.
Thanks for great games GOG! Keep them coming!
toroca As someone who does not currently have internet access on my home computer, without offline installers I would have made exactly zero purchases from GOG, because I generally download them to a flash drive at my local library. Additionally, the practice in recent years of many games requiring an internet connection at activation has kept me from purchasing games from other retailers, even for games I would LOVE to play, like any version of Civilization newer than IV. If I have to connect to activate and/or play a game, I will NOT purchase that game.
ElMoli some of you guys are just some nerdy paranoids... the backup feature is still there, gog galaxy is jsut a launcher and a very minimal one...
scottvf I don't like playing any games while other programs are running in the background. Also don't like achievements. (they are for children, kind of like getting a gold star in grade school) This is why I love buying my games from here. I don't use galaxy.
96 comments about this wish