Hey, so for some time now i had this problem… I have been buying games from both gog and steam… No drm option is good on gog but there are some festures missing from what steam has, for example being able to buy games from trading cards… What should i do? Focuse on buying games from gog and if there isnt a game then buy it on steam? Or maybe just buy games on steam?
Buying a game on Steam gets you the same perpetual license for your copy of the game as it does on GoG (the same as any software). The difference is Steam’s DRM (requiring the Steam Client to run the game). AFAIK Steam have said in the past that they have a plan to remove it if Steam shuts down.
Here’s a video that lays it out in detail as to what game ownership means amongst other things https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUAX0gnZ3Nw.
The big question about all this stuff is how far companies (both game and non-game software) can push their “you don’t own your software” agenda before facing a significant legal challenge and what the outcome of that legal challenge will be.
The difference is you can download and keep the installers from gog and back it up yourself. Gog just acts as a store front and download service. You always keep it. It’s the only true form of software ownership. If you had your steam account removed right now, some games you have installed would no longer launch.
Some games you have bought on gog would also not launch if the publisher decides it. Not all gog games are DRM free.
OTOH, some games have no DRM on steam (not even the steam DRM), and can be kept on your machine forever.
Neither option is a silver bullet for DRM free games, even if way more are available on gog.
Well, I didn’t know some games on gog had drm, but seemingly a vast majority of them on gog are. I hope they start labelling them. Either way, gog usually makes it a mission to point out you don’t need a launcher to play gog games. A huge number of steam games will not launch without their steam integration or drm check working. Speaking practically you get a clear choice to keep your games when you buy them on gog. On steam not so much.