GOG Hits Back at Ubisoft “You should feel extremely comfortable with owning your games”

GOG thinks gamers should feel “extremely comfortable with owning your games”

In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, a Ubisoft executive called Philippe Tremblay stated that he wanted gamers to feel “comfortable with not owning you game”. As Ubisoft’s Director of Subscriptions, Tremblay sees a future where games go the way of TV shows, movies, and music, where DVDs and CDs have mostly been replaced by subscription services. To say the least, Tremblay’s comments have been controversial amongst gamers. GOG has a different stance on game ownership.

Standing up to Ubisoft, GOG has stated that gamers “should feel extremely comfortable with owning your games“. GOG, formerly Good Old Games, is a PC gaming storefront that only sells games that lack any form of DRM. This allows gamers to download games without fears of interference. Closed down DRM servers cannot deny gamers access to their purchases. Gamers can even download offline backup game installers through GOG.  This allows gamers to keep backups of their games to retain access even if GOG closes down.

You should feel extremely comfortable with owning your games on GOG (they're DRM-free) 🙂

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) January 16, 2024

While gaming subscriptions can be a good option for consumers, they can also be problematic. Subscriptions can deliver cost-effective access to a large number of games. That said, that factor can also be a double edged sword. Depending on how many games users play, or how often they want to revisit some titles, direct ownership may be preferable for some titles. For longer games like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, 0r Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora (both Ubisoft games), their long playtimes could take up multiple months of a subscription to complete.

You can join the discussion on GOG’s desire for gamers to own their games on the OC3D Forums.

Mark Campbell

A Northern Irish father, husband, and techie that works to turn tea and coffee into articles when he isn’t painting his extensive minis collection or using things to make other things.

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