Valve reminds Steam users they don't actually own a darn thing they buy, GOG pounces and says its games "cannot be taken away from you" thanks to offline installers | GamesRadar+

Oct 14, 2024

GOG previously said it wants "to ensure your gaming legacy is always in your hands"

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A subtle change has arrived to the Steam shopping experience to drive home the fact that you're buying a game license rather than a copy of a game that you'll definitely own forever, and rival storefront GOG already seems to be weighing in on the matter.

As reported by Engadget, if you're about to buy a new game on Steam, you'll now notice a new message pop up, which reads: "A purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam." This disclaimer appears as though it's likely related to a California law set to come into effect next year, which'll stop digital storefronts from using words like "buy" in relation to things like game licenses unless it's obvious what people are spending their money on, as part of a move to make it clearer to consumers what they actually own (or rather, what they don't).

Needless to say, this new message on Steam has already caused quite a stir, so much so that it's seemingly reached the ears of rival storefront GOG. GOG is famously free of digital rights management (DRM), and offers its customers offline installers for the games it sells which you can download onto your PC where they can remain safe forever, so it's understandable that the site might have some thoughts on all this.

"Since checkout banners are trending, we're thinking of putting one up ourselves," a tweet posted on the official GOG Twitter account reads. "Thoughts on this one?" The concept banner in question says: "A purchase of a digital product on GOG grants you its Offline Installers, which cannot be taken away from you."

As was pointed out as recently as September when GOG weighed in on the upcoming California law, however, it's worth noting that GOG does, in fact, sell licenses to games much like other storefronts. With that said, it clarified at the time: "When we said we let you 'own' your games, we meant that no matter what happens – whether it's licensing issues, storefronts shutting down, or even a zombie apocalypse cutting off your Internet – you'll still be able to play them thanks to our offline installers. We want to ensure your gaming legacy is always in your hands, not ours." With that in mind, there's no doubt many would argue that it's a better deal than what Steam offers.

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I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite.

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