To many PC gamers, GOG.com (formerly known as Good Old Games) is a game distribution platform that serves as a major rival to other distributors like Steam andthe Epic Games Store. For many years, GOG built a reputation for itself as a distributor of older games, with a particular interest in restoring titles that are hard to access and then making them available again. GOG sells plenty of new games, though, and it recently became embroiled in controversy by sellingHitman: Game of the Year Edition.
Alongside its interest in older games, GOG has a commitment to selling games without digital rights management (DRM). GOG users who boughtHitman: GOTY Editionfound its online requirements made the game include DRM, so sellingHitmanflew in the face of a chief principle that GOG is built on. What resulted is a valuable reminder for GOG that its users take its anti-DRM stance seriously, and those users aren’t afraid to express their displeasure if it ever crops up on the service. Now,Hitman: GOTY Editionhas an uncertain future on GOG.
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GOG and the Hitman Backlash
For those who aren’t familiar with the concept of DRM, it is a system of tools that digital content distributors sometimes use to check if players have the proper license for their products. For example,Diablo 3requires permanent Internet connectionto play, which is a form of DRM that allows Blizzard to authenticate players' copies each time they play. GOG is against practices like these, believing players should own their games once they purchase them rather than needing to connect to the Internet or log into an account to play.
This is where issues arose with GOG sellingHitman: GOTY Edition.Although technically fans could play theHitmantitle without accessing the Internet, major parts of the game are inaccessible without going online, from a variety of missions to a long list of collectible weapons and outfits.Hitman: GOTY Editionhad a form of always-online DRM built in, even if it didn’t completely lock players out, so GOG users quickly became upset that it was available through a service famously opposed to DRM. Users expressed their frustration byreview bombingHitman GOTY Editionon GOG.
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Luckily for these users, GOG was listening. It pulledHitman: GOTY Editionfrom its storefront and issued an apology, statingHitmannever should have been made available with these Internet requirements intact. Additionally, GOG told fans that it’s communicating withIO Interactive,Hitman’s developer, potentially indicating plans to put a DRM-free version ofHitman: GOTY Editionon GOG. For now, theHitmantitle is unavailable on this service, and it’s impossible to say when it might return, if at all.
GOG’s Commitment Serves It Well
GOG’sHitmanslip-up is embarrassing for it, but the storefront has handled the controversy with grace. Once users expressed their distress, it responded in accordance with its principles, suggesting that this was an misstep rather than an intentional compromise. As long as it’s vigilant and doesn’t let something else likeHitman: GOTY Editionslip through the cracks, its image as an anti-DRM stronghold should remain intact. As forHitmanfans who prefer GOG as their distributor of choice, hopefully its conversation with IO Interactive goes somewhere. With any luck, there’ll be a non-DRM version ofHitman: GOTY Editionon GOG before long, giving fans a version that they hoped for.
Hitman: Game of the Year Editionis available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
