For some gamers, having games that are free of DRM (Digital Rights Management) can be very important, and Good Old Games (GOG) is working on making things easier for consumers in that regard.
GOG has just launched GOG Connect, a new feature that will allow gamers to re-download DRM-free games from their Steam library.
GOG has partnered with Deep Silver, Harebrained Schemes, Jonathan Blow’s Number None, TaleWorlds, as well as other publishers to bring the following games to its cross-buy portfolio.
- Bit Trip Runner
- Braid
- Breach & Clear
- Breach & Clear: Deadline
- Broken Sword: Director’s Cut
- FTL: Faster Than Light
- Galactic Civilizations III
- Mount & Blade
- Project Zomboid
- Saints Row 2
- Shadowrun Returns
- Sherlock Holmes: Secrets of the Silver Earring
- Surgeon Simulator 2013
- The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing: Final Cut
- The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
- The Witness
- To The Moon
- Trine: Enhanced Edition
- Two Worlds
- Unreal Gold
- Unreal Tournament GOTY
- VVVVVV
- Xenonauts
Unfortunately, these games, and future games that are to be added, will not stick around forever. This means that gamers will have to keep a close eye on which games pop up on GOG Connect.
The point of DRM in games is to prevent pirates from stealing them. The problem is that pirates usually find a way around it and it usually ends up hurting legitimate buyers. For example, The Sims 3 had a debacle in which legitimately purchased copies of the game could only be installed up to three times, even when on the same computer. Others claim that anti-piracy measures, like Denuvo DRM, hurt the performance of games like Batman: Arkham Knight, although Denuvo refutes this.
Regardless, the main pain point is that DRM also requires a constant internet connection, which can be difficult for some. GOG was initially launched as a platform to allow legacy video games to be played on modern hardware, minus DRM restrictions. It soon became a champion of anti-DRM, and all games released on the platform are like buying Xbox games from brick-and-mortar retail: once you buy it, you can do with it as you please.
GOG is great for consumers, and should help prevent gamers from having to buy a game twice just so that they can play it on a plane.
