GOG's Owner Talks DRM and Competing Against Steam

GOG's new owner says that they're not planning on fighting against Steam, but planning on making a better experience for the customers who buy games in GOG by keeping their DRM-free distribution.

Michał Kiciński, co-founder of CDPR, bought GOG at the end of last year. And even though GOG belonged to CDPR, the reason for its sale was that, according to the managing director, Maciej Gołębiewski, each part has its own strategy and therefore, "it was really natural."

"It's a very common business situation where you have two businesses, and one is much smaller than the other one. And it's very natural that most of the resources go to the parts that generate bigger margins. So in that respect, it was not easy for GOG to be in the one group with CDPR, with their blockbusters and AAA games generating huge profits," said Kiciński in a conversation with GamesIndustry.biz.

He also added that "right now, GOG can be the boss of its own destiny," and that was one of the reasons he decided to buy it, but the success of Steam on the PC market can make it a little difficult for GOG to grow.

"Steam is obviously a Goliath," said Gołębiewski. "So far, any company that tries to tackle Steam is a very hard battle. We've seen Discord launch its store, and we've seen Epic Games launch its store. So the fact that GOG is expanding, developing, and still kicking, I think it's a testament to the fact that GOG really has its space on the market with its mission of making games live forever."

Kiciński and Gołębiewski plan to provide a superior service, with classics, modern classics, and even new games, keeping the DRM-free distribution. They want customers to own their games, so the experience of playing them can be even more rewarding.

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