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GOG Connect Games

Steam is an incredible platform. Frequent sales, the workshop, refunds, cloud saves, and dozens of other smaller features come up together to form a service that whatever company would be proud of. Unfortunately, there's a downside: DRM. When y'all buy games on Steam, you're locking yourself into that platform, and you lot have to bide by Valve's restrictions. Thankfully, the folks at GOG.com have put together a clever solution that allows developers to offer DRM-free versions of their games for complimentary to existing Steam users.

Dubbed "GOG Connect," this new service scans your Steam library using the official Steam API, finds any applicable games, and allows you to import them into your GOG business relationship. Your Steam copy remains, but you'll at present have access to the GOG version at no additional toll. As a consumer, there'due south simply no downside to going through this procedure. Even if you keep to play the Steam version, you'll still accept a DRM-free version in your pocket if you ever modify your mind.

Unsurprisingly, the service has been extraordinarily popular. That's swell news for GOG.com, just it also means that the account connection procedure is currently running at a snail'southward pace. The service is so overwhelmed, in fact, users take been warned that information technology may accept days before everything starts working properly.

GOG

Because an agreement has to exist reached with the developers and/or publishers of each game on GOG Connect, non every title that's available on both platforms will be supported. Notwithstanding, 22 games are bachelor for import right out of the gate. Beloved indie games like Braid, The Witness, VVVVVV, and FTL: Advanced Edition are a big role of this launch, but some older high-profile games like Saints Row ii, Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition, and The Witcher: Enhanced Edition are included too.

Once you've gone through the import procedure, you'll get to keep the games in your GOG library indefinitely. The games are only available for import for a limited time, but the GOG squad volition continue to work on signing new deals to add more games equally time goes on. And since CD Projekt is the parent company of both GOG.com and CD Projekt Carmine, it's prophylactic to assume that The Witcher 2 and The Witcher 3 volition both cease up in the rotation somewhen.

Continue in listen, there are policies in place to thwart bad behavior. If yous import a game, and then turn around and inquire for a Steam refund, GOG has the potency to remove that game from your account. And since the Steam API terms of service and the GOG user agreement are mandatory here, yous might even confront harsher penalties if yous're discovered exploiting the system. This is a nice consumer-friendly service — don't ruin it by being a jerk.

From GOG's point of view, this seems like an first-class way to abound the user base. Equally long as Valve's APIs permit for this to happen above the board, this is a solid strategy to bring in highly engaged potential customers. But from the perspective of developers and publishers, this seems like it could be a tough sell. Unless GOG.com is offering some kind of user acquisition compensation backside the scenes, goodwill is the only benefit publishers volition receive. Let's merely hope enough companies are willing to play brawl to keep GOG Connect alive and well beyond this initial launch menses.