GOG Mocks Steam’s License Warning, Promises Its Games “Cannot Be Taken Away”

Just a few hours after we reported on Steam’s new message reminding users that when they buy a game, they’re only purchasing a license, Good Old Games (GOG), a digital store known for its DRM-free games, quickly fired back with a response. It looks like the folks at GOG couldn’t resist mocking Steam’s move, using it as a chance to highlight their own approach to game ownership.

In a post on X/Twitter, GOG reacted to Steam’s new license message. “Since checkout banners are trending, we’re thinking of putting one up ourselves,” the post stated. The banner read, “A purchase of a digital product on GOG grants you its Offline Installers, which cannot be taken away from you.” Unlike Steam, GOG provides DRM-free games with offline installers, meaning once you download a game, it’s yours to keep forever.

Meanwhile, this situation follows a growing trend of digital game sales taking over the market. In some places, like the United Kingdom, 75% of game sales in August were digital, a number that continues to rise each year. Steam’s latest message seems to be a response to a California law coming in 2025. The law will require digital stores to clearly inform customers that they are purchasing licenses, not the actual games themselves.

The upcoming California law is a direct response to controversies like the one involving The Crew, a game Ubisoft removed from stores. After Ubisoft shut down its servers, players who had purchased the game lost access, leaving them unable to play despite having paid for it.

For now, the new law will only apply to digital copies of video games, movies, TV shows, music, and ebooks from online stores. However, it won’t cover permanent offline downloads, which may not provide much comfort to consumers concerned about losing access to their purchases.

More MP1st Reading:

• Silent Hill 2 and Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Get CJ from GTA San Andreas Mods, and It Looks Wild
• Rumor: God of War Greek Saga Remaster Set for Release in 2025
• Former Blizzard President Wanted to Reduce Diablo 4 Microtransactions and Reboot Overwatch

Stay connected to MP1st and the latest news by following us on Bluesky, X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Google News.