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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 together to class a service that any company would be proud of. Unfortunately, at that place'due south a downside: DRM. When you purchase games on Steam, you're locking yourself into that platform, and you accept to abide past Valve'due south 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 gratuitous 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 account. Your Steam copy remains, but you'll at present accept access to the GOG version at no additional cost. Equally a consumer, there's simply no downside to going through this process. Fifty-fifty if you continue to play the Steam version, you'll nevertheless have a DRM-free version in your pocket if you ever change your mind.

Unsurprisingly, the service has been extraordinarily popular. That's keen news for GOG.com, just information technology besides ways that the account connection process is currently running at a snail'south pace. The service is so overwhelmed, in fact, users take been warned that information technology may take days before everything starts working properly.

GOG

Because an agreement has to be reached with the developers and/or publishers of each game on GOG Connect, non every championship that'due south available on both platforms will be supported. Withal, 22 games are bachelor for import right out of the gate. Love indie games like Braid, The Witness, VVVVVV, and FTL: Advanced Edition are a big part of this launch, just some older high-profile games like Saints Row 2, Unreal Tournament Game of the Year Edition, and The Witcher: Enhanced Edition are included every bit well.

In one case you've gone through the import procedure, you'll become to keep the games in your GOG library indefinitely. The games are merely available for import for a limited time, but the GOG team will keep 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 Scarlet, it'south safe to assume that The Witcher 2 and The Witcher iii will both cease upwards in the rotation somewhen.

Keep in heed, there are policies in place to thwart bad behavior. If y'all import a game, then turn around and ask for a Steam refund, GOG has the dominance to remove that game from your business relationship. And since the Steam API terms of service and the GOG user agreement are mandatory here, you might even face up harsher penalties if you lot're discovered exploiting the system. This is a squeamish consumer-friendly service — don't ruin it by being a jerk.

From GOG's point of view, this seems similar an first-class way to abound the user base. As long as Valve's APIs allow for this to happen above the lath, 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 bounty behind the scenes, goodwill is the only benefit publishers volition receive. Let'south simply hope enough companies are willing to play ball to proceed GOG Connect alive and well beyond this initial launch period.