GOG has long stood apart from the crowded PC gaming ecosystem—not just for its DRM-free approach, but for its role as a digital archive of forgotten classics. Yet despite its unique selling points, the platform struggles to compete with Steam’s dominance, even among players who value its principles.
The gap isn’t just about features anymore. It’s about relevance. While GOG’s library includes titles like Diablo 1, Ultima Underworld, and the original Resident Evil trilogy—games Steam has only recently or incompletely added—the platform’s market share has dwindled. What once accounted for a noticeable slice of retro game sales now hovers at just 1–5% of Steam’s volume, down from as much as 10% in its prime.
Dave Oshry, CEO of New Blood Interactive—the studio behind Ultrakill and Dusk—captures the frustration many feel about GOG’s limited appeal. The issue isn’t the platform’s quality; it’s the sheer inertia of Steam’s ecosystem. For guys like me, I don’t mind manually handling mods or tweaking configs, he notes. But most players today either don’t know how to mod or have no interest in doing so. GOG’s strengths—like one-click mod installers—don’t translate into mass adoption when the alternative is just a few clicks away on Steam.
The problem extends beyond modding. Even GOG’s preservation efforts, which include hosting niche or abandoned titles, face a fundamental challenge: accessibility. Oshry recently attempted to play The Journeyman Project on GOG, only to abandon it after a cumbersome setup process. I got them running after a struggle, played for five minutes, and uninstalled it, he says. Nostalgia wins out for a moment, but convenience loses every time.
GOG’s new ownership has promised improvements, but the platform’s survival may hinge on a single question: Can it attract enough users to justify its existence beyond a niche audience? The answer isn’t just about adding more games or refining the launcher. It’s about proving that its advantages—no DRM, mod-friendly architecture, and a library of exclusives—are worth the hassle for the average player. Right now, the evidence suggests otherwise.
For developers and publishers, the lesson is clear. GOG’s model thrives on passion, not scale. And in an industry where even DRM-free stores must compete for attention, passion alone may not be enough to keep the lights on.
