While almost all digital stores say you're “buying” your games, the nasty little secret is that you're only purchasing one license to access a given title. Most stores reserve the right to revoke that license if they wish, and as a new California law forces stores to acknowledge that fact, DRM-free establishment GOG reminds PC gamers to can Live in a world where digital games are yours.
As The Verge reported yesterday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law that will go into effect next year that essentially prohibits digital stores from using words like “buy” when spending money on digital products such as games, movies and music. . It's a timely move given the global consumer rights campaign following Ubisoft's closure of The Crew, and could see companies that revoke access to purchased games fined for false advertising.
“If only there was a store that actually let you own your games,” GOG joked on Twitter in the wake of the news. The store, owned by CD Projekt, parent company of Witcher and Cyberpunk, made a name for itself by selling DRM-free versions of digital games, in contrast to larger PC digital stores like Steam.
Players were quick to point out that GOG's own user agreement makes it clear that the games you buy are also mere licenses. “When we said we let you 'own' your games,” the store said in a follow-up tweet, “we meant that no matter what happens, whether it's licensing issues, store closures, or even a zombie apocalypse that ends with your game.” Internet: You will still be able to play them thanks to our offline installers. “We want to make sure your gaming legacy is always in your hands, not ours.”
We've seen some discussion about this tweet, so let's clarify it When we said we let you 'own' your games, we meant that it doesn't matter what happens, whether it's licensing issues, store closures, or even a zombie apocalypse. your Internet: you will still be… https://t.co/MBkC1P9PN2September 27, 2024
And yes, GOG is one of the few modern PC stores that allows you to download installers for your games, back them up, and reinstall them whenever you want. GOG License Agreement does This means that you could revoke your access to redownload a given title, but you can't access your computer and delete the installers you've already downloaded.
Other PC stores have a much worse track record with this sort of thing. All games purchased on Steam require the launcher to run, and although there is an offline mode, it is not a permanent solution in the aforementioned “zombie apocalypse” situation. Some Epic games work without the launcher, but not all. And both stores allow publishers to include their own, sometimes quite annoying, standalone DRM features.
So no, you don't actually “own” your games on GOG either, but it's much easier to keep them in perpetuity than the games you get on other stores. As we continue to live more and more at the whims of digital content providers to access our games and media, I wish other stores would be willing to take more cues from what GOG is capable of offering.
Just before Nintendo shut down the 3DS and Wii U servers, fans banded together and collected 23,000 data dumps to preserve DLC that was almost lost forever.