While pretty much every digital storefront says you're "purchasing" your games, the nasty little secret is that you're only ever buying a license to access any given title. Most stores reserve the right to revoke that license if they so choose, and as a new California law forces stores to actually admit that fact, DRM-free outlet GOG is reminding PC gamers that you can live in a world where digital games are yours to keep.
As The Verge reported yesterday, California governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law that'll come into effect next year which essentially bars digital stores from using words like "buy" when you're spending money on digital goods like games, movies, and music. It's a timely move given the global consumer rights campaign following Ubisoft's shutdown of The Crew , and it could see companies that revoke access to purchased games fined for false advertising.
"If only there was a storefront that actually lets you own your games," GOG joked on Twitter in the wake of the news. The storefront, which is owned by Witcher and Cyberpunk parent company CD Projekt, made its name by selling DRM-free versions of digital games, in contrast to the bigger digital PC stores like Steam.
Players were quick to point out that GOG's own user agreement makes clear that games you buy are merely licenses there, too. "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, storefronts shutting down, or even a zombie apocalypse cutting off your Internet—you’ll still be able to play them thanks to our offline installers. We want to ensure your gaming legacy is always in your hands, not ours."
And yes, GOG is one of the few modern PC stores that lets you download installers for your games, back them up, and reinstall those games any time you want. GOG's license agreement does mean it could revoke your access to redownload a given title, but it can't reach into your computer and delete the installers you've already pulled down.
Other PC stores have a much worse track record with this kind of thing. Games purchased on Steam all require the launcher to run, and while there's an offline mode that's hardly a permanent solution in the aforementioned sort of "zombie apocalypse" situation. Some Epic games function without the launcher, but not all. And both stores allow publishers to include their own - sometimes quite obtrusive - separate DRM features.
So no, you don't actually "own" your games on GOG either, but it's a lot easier to hang onto them in perpetuity than those games you get on other storefronts. As we continue to live ever more at the whims of digital content providers for access to our games and media, I wish other stores were willing to take more cues from what GOG is able to provide.
Just before Nintendo shut down the 3DS and Wii U servers, fans rallied together and gathered 23,000 data dumps to preserve DLC that was nearly lost forever.
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