GOG’s versions of games don’t include DRM - you can copy the files, install them on as many computers as you want, mod the crap out of them, whatever. It’s best known as an digital storefront specializing in older PC games, but increasingly serves as host to many newer titles as well. But like as not, DRM is the norm for most commercial software these days. It’s part of the whole ‘games as service’ model the industry is presently embracing: you don’t really own your games, you buy the right to use them for a time, and companies are free to revoke that right down the line.Įnter Good Only Games, or GOG. We saw recently how Oculus introduced new DRM in order to prevent players from running its Oculus Store-exclusive games on rival virtual reality headset the HTC Vive, and how spectacularly it backfired. For instance, many Steam games won’t run, or will block off features, if you try to load them without running them through the Steam client. In theory, it’s used to quash piracy, but it can also be used to monopolize customers by forcing them to use a particular service or client in order to access something they’ve paid for.
Modern computer software often comes packed with something called Digital Rights Management, or DRM - a deliberately obfuscating term for what is essentially a way to control how users are able to install software, how many times, on what devices, and in conjunction with other products.
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