GOG: Gamers Don’t Need DRM Because They Aren’t Criminals

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June 18, 2014

Earlier this month, game distribution service GOG announced its own standalone download client called GOG Galaxy, leading some to wonder if the company has loosened its defiant anti-DRM stance. Not to worry, as GOG insists in a new interview that it has no plans to use DRM for Galaxy.

"DRM is only impacting the good-hearted passionate gamers out there," GOG North America VP Guillaume Rambourg told Eurogamer Germany in an interview. "The very same gamers who are ready to spend $50 or more to own their favorite triple-A title and support our industry.

"Our industry should be cherishing and treating all gamers with respect" -- GOG VP Guillaume Rambourg

Rambourg said making gamers go through a "cumbersome" online activation procedure or requiring that they connect to the Internet to play a single-play game is "not really the best way" to treat people who just spent money on a new title.

"Our industry should be cherishing and treating all gamers with respect, those people who pay our wages, servers, development projects, and what not," he said. "Instead, we just make it frustrating for them to buy games. How schizophrenic is that? DRM is not protecting any product. It is harming your fans and your brands in the long run."

Put plainly, DRM misses the point, Rambourg said. "We totally believe that distributing games without DRM is a good thing for our industry," he said. "Let's make it easy and rewarding for gamers to buy games. They are not criminals and they do not need DRM."

In addition to being DRM-free, GOG Galaxy is entirely optional. The service will replicate some of the features offered through Steam, like the ability to automatically update games, chat with friends, and compare achievements. While certain functionality--like playing online or talking to other people--will of course require an Internet connection, GOG customers who opt to make use of Galaxy will be free to play all of their games offline without any online activations required.

More information about GOG Galaxy will be shared later in 2014.