{"id":79315,"date":"2025-01-12T04:59:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-12T04:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/?p=79315"},"modified":"2025-01-12T04:59:52","modified_gmt":"2025-01-12T04:59:52","slug":"gog-is-mocking-the-steam-license-notice-while-it-still-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/gog-is-mocking-the-steam-license-notice-while-it-still-can\/","title":{"rendered":"GOG is mocking the Steam license notice while it still can"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>We recently reported on Steam&#8217;s new licensing disclosure notice, a message explaining how it doesn&#8217;t actually own software purchases made on Steam&#8217;s storefront. Now, GOG is taking the opportunity to remind gamers of its friendlier, DRM-free business model.<\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":0,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":0,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":0,\"ruleCount\":400,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":259} --><br \/>\n<!-- No winning ad found for zone: below first paragraph! --><br \/>\n<!-- No winning ad found for zone: mid intro! --><\/p>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GOGcom\/status\/1844752098145038435?\">tweet<\/a>GOG shared an edited screenshot of its payment page with a notice stating, \u201cPurchasing a digital product on GOG gives you offline installers, which cannot be taken away from you.\u201d This proposed slogan, which appears to be more of a marketing opportunity than an actual proposal, is in stark contrast to the notice that now appears on Steam&#8217;s checkout page: &#8220;Purchasing a digital product grants a license to the product on Steam.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":0,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":0,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":0,\"ruleCount\":400,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":706} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":0,\"ruleCount\":400,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":400,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p>Now, technically, you are <em>no<\/em> Games you buy from GOG legally. Purchased games are <em>Licensed<\/em> Yours forever, just like on Steam. This is standard software practice. Even if you purchased the CD version of <em>Civilization<\/em> At Walmart, or whatever, you&#8217;re bound by the game publisher&#8217;s licensing agreement.<\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":342} --><\/p>\n<p>But the game publisher can&#8217;t come into your house and remove the CD from your shelf. Physical copies of games with offline installers are the closest we get to &#8220;ownership.&#8221; This is what makes GOG special, it&#8217;s a digital-only storefront of course, but it allows you to download <em>Offline installers without DRM<\/em>. The offline installer can be moved between devices, backed up in the cloud, burned to a disc, or saved to an external hard drive \u2013 you can do whatever you want as long as you don&#8217;t violate the EULA or copyright law Basic. The game publisher cannot take the installer offline from you, the installer will continue to work if GOG stops working.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":1,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":1,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":1022} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":1,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":1000,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":240} --><\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are some caveats to GOG&#8217;s business model. Games that rely on online functionality may &#8220;go offline&#8221; when the publisher decides to shut down its servers. Although offline installers are great, they can take up a lot of storage space. Average GOG Customers <em>He should<\/em> They back up their installers to the cloud or an external drive, but many don&#8217;t do this.<\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":596} --><\/p>\n<p>I should also point out that the Steam licensing notice came in response to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org\/bills\/ca_202320240ab2426\">California Assembly Bill 2426<\/a> (AB2426), which forces digital storefronts to disclose when a purchase does not constitute legal property. AB2426 was signed into law last month and will be implemented starting next year \u2014 as a company that sells software licenses, GOG will have to comply with California law. It&#8217;s not clear whether GOG&#8217;s proposed exit logo would fit California&#8217;s legal requirements. It doesn&#8217;t mention licensing, and the claim that offline installers &#8220;can&#8217;t be taken from you&#8221; could be misconstrued as &#8220;you own the game,&#8221; which undermines the purpose of AB2426.<\/p>\n<p><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"before\",\"adPosition\":2,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":2,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":1266} --><!-- Zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"after\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":2,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"actualCount\":0} --><br \/>\n<!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"isEarlyInjection\":false,\"currentRuleCount\":1000,\"actualCount\":0,\"hasActualCountMetThreshold\":null,\"countRemainingForInjection\":null,\"nextBlockCount\":null,\"hasCountRemainingForInjectionMetThreshold\":null} --><\/p>\n<p>I agree with GOG&#8217;s proposed exit slogan \u2014 which is more of a marketing opportunity in the meme era than an actual suggestion \u2014 but I worry that consumers aren&#8217;t hearing the full picture. I&#8217;m also concerned that GOG will face some backlash when it inevitably sets up a more convenient, more Steam-like licensing statement.<\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":337} --><\/p>\n<p>GOG is a valuable asset in the world of computer gaming. Not only does it have a friendlier business model than the competition, but it&#8217;s also one of the best storefronts for older titles. While players should be reminded of GOG, they should also understand the limits of their digital purchases.<\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":625} --><\/p>\n<p>source: <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GOGcom\/status\/1844752098145038435?\">Gog<\/a> via <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.windowscentral.com\/gaming\/gog-reminds-everyone-why-they-should-buy-games-there-and-not-steam-or-epic-games\">Windows Central<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- No repeatable ad for zone: character count repeatable. --><!-- Repeatable debug data: {\"injection\":\"none\",\"adPosition\":3,\"startingPoint\":0,\"skipEvery\":null,\"nbrPlacementFilledEachSkip\":3,\"nbrPlacementsScanned\":3,\"ruleCount\":1000,\"degradationStartingPoint\":1,\"stopAds\":null,\"actualCount\":656} -->\n <\/div>\n<p>        (tags for translation) video games <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We recently reported on Steam&#8217;s new licensing disclosure notice, a message explaining how it doesn&#8217;t actually own software purchases made on Steam&#8217;s storefront. Now, GOG is taking the opportunity to remind gamers of its friendlier, DRM-free business model. In a tweetGOG shared an edited screenshot of its payment page with a notice stating, \u201cPurchasing a &#8230; <a title=\"GOG is mocking the Steam license notice while it still can\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/gog-is-mocking-the-steam-license-notice-while-it-still-can\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about GOG is mocking the Steam license notice while it still can\">\u0625\u0642\u0631\u0623 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0632\u064a\u062f<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":79316,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1723],"class_list":["post-79315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-video-games","tag-computer-games"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/GOG-is-mocking-the-Steam-license-notice-while-it-still.jpg?fit=2100%2C1400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79315"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79315\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79317,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79315\/revisions\/79317"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79316"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodwriterz.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}