On the one hand I like GOG because it has no DRM and has better prices (in my country) than Steam and I have the feeling that on the one hand it follows more the open source philosophy than Steam itself, but Steam has helped enormously to play Windows games on Linux, so I haven’t really made up my mind.
On the one hand I want to buy on Steam for the convenience, but on the other hand I prefer GOG because (in my country) is cheaper. Which platform do you prefer and why?
To give an example, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is currently $15 on Steam with regional pricing, but on GOG it’s worth just $6.
I’m all-in on Steam, but I like that GOG exists and I hope it sticks around.
My decision tree roughly follows these steps:
- Steam for games that have an online multiplayer content, because GoG Galaxy sucks ass on Linux.
- Steam for games that objectively run better on Proton.
- GoG for games that support LAN multiplayer.
I used to also prioritize GoG because it was largely DRM-free, but the Luna partnership is putting doubt on that.
Basically in the same as you, but Steam is cheaper in my country, and I have a larger library of modern games there thanks to Humble Bundle and friends gifting me games there
I prefer GOG but not enough to not buy from Steam. And each store has its pros and cons.
As a single player gamer, I love the DRM free nature of GOG, especially for classic games like Rollercoaster Tycoon or SimCity 3000. I have older PCs lying around and being able to play my games on them is very very nice.
On the other hand, updating my game is a chore and GOG Galaxy while cool isn’t polished, and very buggy especially only Linux via Wine. I wouldn’t even consider online multiplayer games unless it had its own server.
Compared to Steam which works with Linux by default, no Lutris or Bottles configuring to get games to work. Updates are seamless and online multiplayer is built into the client. Let alone remote play, steam families, big picture, and all the other features it does.
My only gripe with Steam is the GIANT question mark on what happens to my games when they pull support. I mean I can’t even play my older games any more on my old Windows 7 machine, and its not like Fallout 3 is getting updates.
So my priority is thus: GOG then Steam, if its single player and the price is similar (±$10). Steam then GOG if it makes sense or I need steam features (I.e. I got Stardew Valley on Steam since my SO has it there too and we can play together). Finally if the game is around $5 get it on either, or maybe both if I like the game.
GOG is pretty great, but Valve and their love for Linux makes Steam my goto. Plus I have a Steam Deck.
I strongly prefer GOG to the point where I often don’t buy games that are not on GOG.
That being said, one reason to buy from Steam is steam workshop. So if I want a lot of mods, I may buy from Steam even when available on GOG.
Steam. Works on Linux.
I was all in on GOG 10-12 years ago when they said they were working on Linux support “soon”
After so many years of promises and no action, while Valve pays developers to improve Linux gaming, I’d rather buy from Steam
Prices tend to be similar between the platforms here, though
Steam simply due to the convenience and already having a ton of games there. Steam sales are nice too of course.
GOG is awesome, but more for older games or for games I want to play at a LAN. Like the good old days where you hang out with friends, throw a CD (or now USB stick) their way and ten minutes later you’re playing together.
I love GOG, and support GOG, especially when it comes to nostalgic old PC games… but… I love steam achievements, I love the Steam Deck, and I love seeing my gaming stats, like top 10 games played and such. So I default to Steam.
whenever possible I buy games from Itch.io as some devs provide Steam keys alongside their source code and packaged versions for most (if not all) platforms which is usually: [Windows, Linux, Android]
Anywhere but stream. Their support system is awful in that there is no way to escalate issues outside of calling them out on social media and hoping the bad press catches someone’s attention.
Sounds like you had one specific issue, which escalated to this level.
I’m on steam for almost 15 years, had issues with refunds, serial keys, hardware support, account issues and steam deck hardware replacement. Every time they resolved it in a friendly and professional manner within hours.
I’m not saying your opinion is invalid, but stating things like, they are only reachable via social media is a huge exaggeration at best.
Hm, do I prefer renting games, or owning them for the same price…?
You don’t own games “bought” from GOG either. This is explicitly mentioned in their ToS.
You technically do if you download the offline installers
Same as DRM-free games on Steam. And no you don’t, the games are still licensed to you. They simply can’t remove them from your drive, just like physical media.
Sure, they could try, but they would have to physically enter my house since I have drives that are not connected to the internet
The inability to remove files from your drive is quite a lot.
And DRM-free games on steam are not that many, most have at least something that closes the game if you don’t have steam running and I’m a bit sick of having to use goldberg every time I want to use a game without starting steam.
Of course GoG has a lot of (pretty bad) issues, but it’s like comparing a cold to a cancer, it’s absurd. Steam is actively destroying both game ownership (by allowing more and more DRM methods, now with games telling you to accept 5 different terms of use all indicating that you are heavily tracked while using the game for example) and game quality by encouraging the shittiest game, with a main page being completely unusable if you don’t filter out keywords such as nudity, nsfw, mmorpg, etc. GoG isn’t to that extent. Other things exist and if for example Itch had a better interface and search system it would unequivocally be the best game platform I am aware of as of now, sure. But trying to say that GoG and steam are the same (or that GoG is worse) is really not possible to do unless you actually don’t give a shit about games.
I prefer Steam because of cheaper games in my country and because of service. All those reviews, tutorials and mods matter.
I buy multiplayer games on steam since that’s where my friends are. I pirate almost everything else unless I want to support the developer (typically small indie games or high quality stuff like FromSoft). If I buy a game, I do prefer GOG but steam can be convenient, especially on Linux.
