this post was submitted on 31 Mar 2025
420 points (99.1% liked)

Games

37467 readers
1303 users here now

Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.

Weekly Threads:

What Are You Playing?

The Weekly Discussion Topic

Rules:

  1. Submissions have to be related to games

  2. No bigotry or harassment, be civil

  3. No excessive self-promotion

  4. Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts

  5. Mark Spoilers and NSFW

  6. No linking to piracy

More information about the community rules can be found here and here.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Just did a GOG survey that focused on the idea of a paid membership option on GOG. Seems they're determining what people would be willing to pay extra for. Some of the options were

  • a tool for backing up offline installers
  • ability to install previous versions of a game
  • extra insight into the preservation work they're doing.
  • voting rights on games to bring into the preservation program.

And others that I can't remember.

(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] deoliveira@feddit.org 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

How about instead of this subscription talk, GOG could:

-Remake GOG Galaxy. The client is slow with tons of bloat. Focus on your store, and make a native Linux client.
-Help fund Wine. I find it weird that the main non-DRM store is so againat Linux. I know people that would leave Steam If GOG came to Linux.
-Different version and a tool to backup games should be part of the new launcher and not part of a subscription. You guys talk about game preservations and then try to put parts of it behind a paywall.....
-A more realistic Dreamlist. Who had the idea of letting people submit any game they want? Dreamlist would work better if GOG choose a list of games and the community voted for what game for GOG to focus on. People really think that games that were console exclusive or old FIFA/NBA/Gran Turismo games will come to GOG.
-There are some games on GOG that don't work, FIX THEM! (Looking at you Kane and Lynch)

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (12 children)

With regards to the Dreamlist, this is so that they have ammunition to bring to rights holders. They just started bringing previously console exclusive games to GOG as well, so that barrier has been broken down. If there's money in it, any game could be done.

load more comments (12 replies)
[–] the_riviera_kid@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is how enshitification begins, don't enable this shit.

[–] TeoTwawki@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

yup, shit that we already have will start being gated behind the fee of the subscription

[–] hornedfiend@sopuli.xyz 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Honestly, I would totally move to GOG, however my entire games collection is on Steam, so it would be very very difficult and it’s rather tedious to have and use 2 platforms like that.

Oh well, I do hope they can get more people onto their platform. it’s a better Epic store for sure.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Konraddo@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have supported GoG for quite some years. I don't understand why they keep pivoting different things to do.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I would support paying for the initial game as well as every major patch when a new OS came out. Say, they do something to make a game work on Win 11. One year later we have Win 12 so I don't mind paying a little for the patch. Then one year later we have Win 13 and I'm willing to pay again if I still play the game.

I would also support paying for online servers for games that have multiplayer components. That takes money to maintain.

As others mentioned, GoG should stop wasting time on a launcher. Hell, even the installer. Just ZIP the whole thing for me to download.

[–] ampersandrew@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I would also support paying for online servers for games that have multiplayer components. That takes money to maintain.

If the developers were interested in allowing people to keep the servers running, they'd just give us the server code like they used to. If I was in charge of a GOG that was a little more flush with capital, I might fund an easy drop-in replacement library for Steam's multiplayer APIs so that developers can easily port their games to GOG and be playable, in multiplayer, offline.

Support Linux and give me Dark Colony (which tons of people have asked for already for years) and I'll consider subscribing.

[–] TheFinn@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I wouldn't mind supporting them if they could provide a Linux tool that let me download my library in bulk.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

GOG is fucked. As soon as services like this start talking about subscriptions, it's already over.

[–] MECHAGODZILLA2@midwest.social 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Once they added every modern Lego game to their preservation program I knew the thing was bunk. Harry Potter Lego game = worth preserving, Lego Island = never heard of it. Total BS

[–] alehel@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah, I found that one weird as well. Lego Island wasn't just the first Lego game. It was one of the first open world games. Well worth preserving. Much more so than the Lego games that got added.

[–] daggermoon@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I think LEGO Island would be hard to license because Mindscape is long gone. Also the source code was lost as I recall. MattKC on YouTube has created lots of patches to get the game running on modern systems. He's working on decompiling it actually.

[–] alehel@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 week ago

Yeah, I'm actually a member of his channel on YouTube.

[–] secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 week ago

I'll support them once they support Linux. Until then I'll pirate if I need a DRM free game

[–] Protoknuckles@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I told them I'd like a GOG style humble choice. If they're not willing to give actual games, I'd be interested in a subscription to help game preservation, but probably only $5 a month max.

[–] Sabin10@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

A humble choice like subscription service would be pretty great honestly. $10ish a month for maybe 1 AA/AAA modern game and a handful of retro and indie games would have me on board immediately. Starting to charge for things they currently or have previously offered for free is not the way to win people over.

[–] SabinStargem 3 points 1 week ago

I think if they need an extra income stream, it should be physical manuals, discs/disks, boxes, and feelies. Say that GOG has System Shock, Ultima VII, Thief Gold, and TIE Fighter planned for a limited edition boxed edition, but needs pre-orders. Plonk down $20-40, get those things when the funding goal is reached.

[–] qbus@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

The only thing that I could think of that would make paying worth anything would be if they had GOG servers for online play from games that their servers shut down. Aka GOG's KALI

[–] jojowakaki@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

The things I would be ok paying a subscription for:

  • Rotating free Games that I get to keep. Like epic but only for subscribers. The game should be mine even after I quit the subscription.
  • Extra insights in preservation, or goodies
  • voting rights on what games should be free next month for the sunscribers.
  • discounted price on games.

Things that I feel it shouldnot be locked behind subscription and paywall:

  • tool for backing up offline installers
  • ability to install previous versions of game
  • and definitely not voting rights on games to bring into the preservation program.

If the tooks for backing up offline installers or ability to install previous versions of game are paywalled, that is going to invite more reasons for piracy.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 1 week ago

I filled the survey as well. It's mostly focused on "games preservation". I'm not up to pay subscription for anything they're willing to offer and even made sure to tell them that I'm willing to pay a premium for whatever useful content (games) end up exclusive to subscribers

[–] Tattorack@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

The only one that sounds good to me, perhaps, are the voting rights. I'd pay for that. Patreon artists and creators do this sort of thing, and if this is something GOG needs to do to get by, then fine by me.

Downloading offline installers/backups, however... That would be locking away a feature that exists now to everyone that has bought a game. That means locking away a feature from customers who have spent money on a product already... Likely for the explicit point of being able to get installers that don't need an online connection. If they choose to do this, they'd be desfeting their own purpose.

For context; I bought most of my games on GOG. I don't really buy games anymore, and my Steam library is low absolutely massive, however. Both of those reasons are because I've been subbed to Humble Monthly for a few years. But ultimately when I go looking to buy a game, my preference is to buy from GOG specifically because it's offline and DRM free.

[–] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Just put out AVP2

load more comments