Have you ever stopped to think that, while the games industry is making great strides into the future, a crucial part of our past is simply… disappearing? Well, my friend, that’s a frightening reality. In recent years, it has become clear that we are losing video game history in real time. Games that marked eras, that defined entire generations, are being removed from digital stores, have their servers shut down and, in some sad cases like The Crew 1, are even disappearing from the libraries of those who bought them. And then I ask you: what happens to that incredible franchise from 15 years ago that can no longer be played even through piracy? The feeling is that we’re watching a museum go up in flames, and most of the big companies are just looking on.
While giants like Ubisoft, Activision and Microsoft don’t seem to move an inch of their “fat, well-funded asses” (to use a very honest expression from a video I saw recently) to solve this, one store in particular has decided to carry the weight – and the honor – of preserving our digital legacy on its own. I’m talking about GOG, the platform from CD Projekt Red, the same minds behind The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077. And my friends, what they are doing is, without a doubt, impressive.
GOG was already known for its focus on old games, but now they’ve taken it to a level that borders on the unbelievable. And the big move? They’re hiring private investigators to unravel one of the biggest mysteries in the gaming world: finding out who owns the rights to classic games that have been lost to time. Just imagine the scene: a detective, perhaps in a trench coat, knocking on someone’s door in the UK to say: “Sir, you’ve inherited the rights to a game franchise from the 90s and we want to bring it back to life”. That’s not a movie script, that’s GOG making history – literally.
Well, if the first act of this story has you hooked, get ready because GOG’s work goes far beyond hiring real-world detectives. Their work is meticulous, almost surgical, and begins well after the copyrights have been resolved.
More than Making It Available: The Mission to “Fix” History
There’s no point in having the right to sell a classic game if, when you install it on Windows 11, the screen turns blue or the controls simply don’t work. That’s when GOG shows its true face. They’re not just a digital store; they’re true restorers of digital works of art.
Their technical team delves deep into the code of these old games and makes a series of essential modifications so that the experience is the best it can be today. We’re talking about
- Compatibility with modern hardware and software: Ensure that the game runs smoothly on your ultrawide monitor, with your mechanical keyboard and on your current Windows.
- Fixing historical bugs: Those glitches and problems that were never solved by the original developers, and which the community had to work around with unofficial patches, are often fixed by GOG itself.
- Added quality of life improvements: support for achievements in some titles, integration with cloud saving and, most importantly, the guarantee that the game is truly yours, without restrictive DRMs that prevent you from playing offline whenever you want.
In practice, buying a game on GOG is like buying a restored and remastered edition of a classic movie, but with care taken to keep the soul and the original experience intact. They don’t just put the game on the digital shelf; they prepare it to survive for another decade or two.
What about the “Sins” of Licenses? The Biggest Enemy of Old Games
Here we come to a thorny point, which the original video touches on brilliantly. Often, the disappearance of a game has nothing to do with the engine or the will of the producer, but rather with a tangle of licenses for music and images that have simply expired.
Take the Forza Horizon franchise mentioned in the video. Microsoft keeps releasing new games, but where are Forza Horizon 1, 2 and 3? Gone! Most likely because of the licensed soundtracks, which had a fixed term of use. When this deadline expires, the publisher has two options: spend a fortune to renew all the licenses (which is rarely financially viable) or simply take the game out of circulation. Guess which option is more common?
That’s where the million-dollar question comes in: could GOG solve this?
The answer is: maybe! GOG’s big move is persistence and negotiation. While a big publisher might find the process too laborious and give up, GOG seems to be willing to do the legwork. They track down every rights holder, from the company that went bankrupt to the heir who didn’t even know they had the rights, and start a conversation. Often, people are receptive to seeing their work or their family’s work revitalized and respected.
This isn’t just a service; it’s an act of cultural curation. They are doing for soundtracks and visual assets what they do for code: ensuring that they remain accessible.
And now, my friends, we come to the digital clash that every gamer loves: GOG vs. Steam vs. Epic. But calm down, before you go throwing stones at the stores, we need to understand that each one occupies a different space in the ecosystem – and that’s precisely where GOG becomes irreplaceable.
GOG vs. Steam vs. Epic: It’s Not a War, It’s a Question of Purpose
Let’s face it: Steam is the absolute queen when it comes to a comprehensive catalog, social resources, developer tools and the comfort of having 90% of your games in a single library. Nobody argues with that. Epic, on the other hand, comes in with its strategy of weekly free games and temporary exclusives, conquering space on the basis of “free” and aggressive discounts.
And GOG? Well, it doesn’t give a damn about this race. While the others fight over who has the newest game first, GOG is on its own, scavenging for the oldest game back. It’s like comparing a shopping mall (Steam) with a department store on sale (Epic) and an interactive museum where you can buy the relics (GOG).
The great thing about GOG, which puts it on an almost spiritual level for anyone who loves games, is the DRM-Free philosophy. On Steam and Epic, you “rent” access to the game for as long as the platform exists. At GOG, you buy it outright. The game is yours. You can download the installer, save it on an external hard drive, install it on 5 different PCs, and it will be yours forever, even if GOG closes its doors tomorrow. That’s not a detail, it’s a statement of principle.
What About Us? What Can We Do To Help?
Faced with such noble work, it’s natural to wonder: how can I contribute? The answer is simpler than it seems:
- Buy it on GOG, even if it’s cheaper on Steam: Think of the price difference as a donation to the preservation of gaming history. You’re funding the detectives, programmers and traders who keep the classics alive.
- Spread the Word: Talk to your friends about GOG and its mission. Many people still don’t know or understand the importance of DRM-Free.
- Appreciate the classics: Don’t be ashamed to play old titles. Show new generations that Half-Life, System Shock 2 or Fallout 1 aren’t just “old games”, they’re lessons in design, narrative and creativity.
The Ghost of “Games as a Service” and The Crew 1 Case
And we can’t talk about preservation without looking to the future – a future that has, in fact, already arrived. The rise of “Games as a Service” (GaaS) is the biggest threat to preservation since cartridges stopped being manufactured.
The case of The Crew 1 is the perfect and most terrifying example. Ubisoft simply shut down the game’s servers. The end. Anyone who bought it, whether on physical or digital media, was left with a beautiful paperweight. The game is dead. And will this happen to Fortnite one day? Overwatch 2? Destiny 2?
It’s scary to think that, in 20 years’ time, a huge part of the gaming history of the 2020s could be a blank page, simply because companies will decide it’s no longer profitable to keep the servers going.
It is in this context that GOG’s work takes on a prophetic significance. They are not just saving the past; they are showing us that there is a different path to the future. They are proving that it is possible to have a sustainable business based on respect for the player and for history.
While The Crew 1 has turned to dust, GOG is making sure that you can still play Diablo or Baldur’s Gate online with your friends, thanks to its own servers. The message is clear: some want you to rent, others want you to own your story.
So, what did you think of this journey through preservation? Has GOG’s work convinced you to give the classics a chance? Share your opinion in the comments!
