Good Previous Video games, or GOG, the digital-rights-management-free PC gaming market and platform from CD Projekt, has formally ended a service that already didn’t really feel terribly lengthy for this world. What as soon as appeared like a promising option to slowly import parts of your Steam library to GOG, the place they might exist in an infinitely archivable format, has now lastly evaporated.
GOG launched in 2008 as a substitute for different digital gaming storefronts on PC, specializing in making older, hard-to-find video games purchasable. The cherry on prime? All of those video games can be out there with none digital rights administration software program to limit what you do together with your .exe copies. In contrast to Steam, GOG video games are a lot simpler to again up and re-install on a number of computer systems, all with out ever needing to get twisted up in any type of on-line account authorization. In 2012, the service expanded from older PC-gaming gems to fashionable titles, maintaining the DRM-free coverage in place.
In 2016, GOG introduced “Join,” a service that allow you to join your Steam library to redeem choose titles you already owned as DRM-free copies on GOG, with mentioned video games solely eligible for redemption in a restricted window of time. Those that’ve checked GOG.com/Join in recent times, nonetheless, have discovered nothing however digital tumbleweeds. And now, in January of 2023, mentioned hyperlink and repair now simply directs to GOG’s homepage, formally signaling the tip of this as soon as very promising program.
GOG.com/Join at all times had an air of “that is too good to be true.” A service that offers you an additional copy of a recreation you already personal, with no restrictions as to how one can backup, set up, re-install, promote, or share it? How even?
However whereas the service was lively, it wasn’t simply an effective way emigrate to a brand new platform, however reasonably a useful option to archive your Steam library. Although Steam is a reasonably accessible and dependable platform that always provides you entry to video games you’ve bought however have since been pulled off the storefront (2007’s Prey is one such instance), DRM continues to be extensively used on the Valve storefront and attempting to make use of the service with out a dependable web connection can simply render a recreation unplayable, as many a touring Steam Deck person has found. GOG Join was as soon as a promising resolution to this challenge. However, the concept of having the ability to some day transfer a considerable quantity of your library into one thing archivable, with out spending a dime, was simply too good to be true.
Like many, I used this service a good bit when it launched. I’d preserve the hyperlink bookmarked to go to as soon as every week. However as out there video games started to dry up, it drifted from reminiscence. I nonetheless play the sport of “ought to I get this on Steam or GOG?” each time one thing I would like comes up on each companies. The promise of GOG Join as soon as made that query irrelevant.