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GOG Fighting the Good Fight
(lemmy.nz)
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this post was submitted on 15 Jul 2026
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How is this not also true for Steam? Unless the game itself has DRM, I can copy game files to an offline machine that doesn't have Steam installed and launch and play them normally.
Edit: Glazing GOG for this while insisting "sTeAm iS dIfFeReNt" is like buying the cereal box that says "Asbestos Free!" on it.
Ever since that Sony tweet, all these kids are, overnight, developing all these strong opinions about shit they never cared about before, based on nothing but hype, memes, and regurgitated streamer slop.
Physical media has licenses too. GOG purchases come with licenses too. Optical media rots. And Steam isn't secretly Sony (yet. They probably will be after Gabe dies).
Downvote me all you want, it doesn't change the truth and reveals much more about you than me.
"Unless the game itselfhas DRM" is the key phrase. Steam itself is a form of DRM if you must install it and login to install and/or run a game.
DRM-free Steam games are the exception, not the rule, unfortunately.
https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/The_big_list_of_DRM-free_games_on_Steam
If the game itself has DRM, then it has DRM on GOG too.
Did you read what I wrote?
GOG is drm free and provides offline installers for the games, updates, and dlcs. Even games with drm on steam.
You don't even need to install their client to download the installers or extras.
If a game has DRM on one platform, but not another, that's because the publisher required it. That can be for any number of reasons that don't have anything to do with the platform.
I guess what I'm asking is, what's the benefit to having the installer instead of the game files?
You have to be online to download the installer. The end result is being able to play normally, offline, from portable storage if you choose. Besides a few gigabytes, it seems like a distinction without a difference.
Gog literally won't allow you to sell a game if it has DRM, that's their whole deal as a Platform.
Also having the installers means that if you can install the game files, set whatever environment variables the game needs, create the necessary folders, install the redistributable runtimes the game needs to run,and link the dlls properly. If you only have the game files you have to manage all of that yourself
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/page1
While thats a list of plenty of unfortunate things, it's not exactly what people mean by drm, and in some cases kind of absurd for them to conflate.
DRM is generally refering to restrictions on your ability to install, share, and use a game.
Games having extra content thats connected to an online server or the creation of an account is unfortunate but not drm, theres also out dated ones in that list like the twitch drops in cyberpunk just being in the game now.
Online games having anti cheats and dependencies, or wanting you to have an account is also unfortunate especially if invasive but not a restriction on your ability to install or share a game.
In that list im only seeing DEFCON and Multiwinia having a key verification server which is supposed to be disabled in the offline installers. other games mention having verifications removed some seemingly unsuccessfully at the time of that post.
Alot of these things are issues with games preservation in general, something that GOG actually does alot to help with, theres plenty of old games that come with fixes, patches, and dlls that make them run on modern hardware that other online stores that still sell the games don't provide.
The thing about it not being drm is you can backup the installers, you can just give them to a friend, it doesnt phone home and check if this computer has some license, it doesn't try and match hardware, or limit you to a certain number of installs.
If there are outdated entries, feel free to comment in that forum thread as it still seems to get regularly updated. Doesn't change that it happened, though. It required a public backslash for GOG to remove HITMAN GOTY after all.
I'd say hiding part of the content of a single player behind online connection is a type of DRM. Even by your definition, you won't be able to back up installer that includes that content. It's absolutely a DRM, if not for the entire game than for definitely for DLC.
But even if you dismiss those and multiplayer games, there's still more in that list that DEFCON and Multiwinia. Any game that requires Galaxy has as much DRM on it as any that requires Steam. Admittedly, not all of those seems to be intentional. Some of them are due to the bugs, but it still prevents players from just backing up installer and sharing it with friends. It's nice that GOG helps with patches for old games, but apparently when it comes to Galaxy requirement, the official solution usually is “just use Galaxy”.
In the end, the claim of the previous poster was that GOG doesn't allow selling games with DRM, which even a single example proves wrong. GOG may do a lot of good for preservation, but that doesn't mean they are not beyond reproach.
So, Steam respects their customers enough to offer them a choice while GOG doesn't; good to know.
Ok, and? I can do all that on Steam too. I can even launch the game directly without involving Steam at all.
Yeah, and all that is a huge pain in the ass. Having it to do myself isn't a positive.
Do you ever see a specialty store and think "at least Walmart respects their customers enough to offer them a choice".
Also you really need to work on your reading comprehension skills
Yes.