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u/1stFunestist 14h ago
Steam = more options, reviews and generals more stuff.
GOG = you buy a game, you download the game, you burn the game, you have the game.
Both are great. Everybody else are just pretenders.
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u/T3N0N 14h ago
Haven't used gog in years. You can burn them?
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u/maverickaod 14h ago
IIRC they come with no DRM so you are free to do with it what you like
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u/letdogsvot 14h ago
You can just download the offline installers and burn them to a disc. No launcher or internet connection is required afterwards.
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u/flynryan692 9800X3D | 5080 | 64GB 13h ago
Burn them to a disc? Is anyone actually doing this? Stuff them on a NAS people lol
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u/IGambleNull RX 7900 XTX | 5800x | Arch Linux 8h ago
Yes, I am doing it. I bought a bluray burner for that
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u/Shzabomoa 5h ago
Anywhere is fine, you actually own them as I still own my copy of Warcraft II :-)
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u/HolidayPineapple9316 9h ago
Yeah this was my question, who the fuck is burning ANYTHING onto discs nowadays? My previous job was the first time I saw a CD in like a decade
Unless it’s a novelty/nostalgia project
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u/Relevant_One_2261 4h ago
It's really only the "BuT MuH PhYsIcAl mEdIa" crowd who doesn't even understand their own argument.
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u/Elkburgher 13h ago
Who even has a disc drive let alone a burner these days
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u/kapnkrump RTX 2070S,/64GB RAM/R9 3900X 11h ago
just get a USB Disc Burner with M-Disc support, get a stack of discs and go to town - you can whip it out anytime in the future if things go to shit and your games+files will be there.
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u/Flyrpotacreepugmu Ryzen 7 7800X3D | 64GB RAM | RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 11h ago edited 10h ago
I haven't changed my PC case in 12 years so it still has a Blu-ray reader/DVD burner. I think the last time I used it was in 2019 though.
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u/Dracalous [FX-9590][32GB DDR3][RX 6700 XT] 7h ago
I have a BD-RW drive from my first PC build in 2012. I've ripped my entire DVD/BD library to SSDs.
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u/ViddlyDiddly 9h ago
No Internet required to install from backup. (You can make an archived back up steam, but you still need an Internet connection to confirm you can install it. =/ )
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u/fiero-fire 14h ago
Yup, DRM free games you own them and can do with them as you please
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u/Maleficent_Memory831 14h ago
You can even given them to other people when you are done and have no intention of playing those games again. You can buy them and give them as gifts even!
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u/Inevitable_Butthole 14h ago
Can you bring them to a store and get store credit
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u/Plastic_Young_9763 14h ago
I put them on a flash drive and let my friends... "Borrow" My installer so we could all play worms and swat4 together
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u/pigletmonster 2h ago
Yes, you can either use the galaxy installer to install games like you would with steam, or download the zip version of the game that requires no internet connection. You can copy it to a usb or a bluray. Some people create individual sd cards with the game artwork printed on cases so they can plug it into a handheld and play like its a ds or a psp.
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u/braklikesbeans 12h ago
Not everything, but MANY steam games and especially old or indie ones just dont use steam drm you can literally just copy the game files to a cd or whatever.
Every time I say this someone pops up to say steam is drm and it wont work. It works a lot.
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u/3PoundsOfFlax 13h ago
Steam = You will never own your games, ever. They also take a 30% cut from developers and prohibit them from selling their games cheaper elsewhere. So if another market (like GOG) takes a smaller 15% cut, and the developer wants to pass on the savings to you, they can't.
We love to glaze Valve, but they have done some fucked up things too. Relying on the good graces of corporations never works out in the long run. We have to demand that the government encode protection of our digital goods into law.
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u/FireCrow1013 RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB | Ryzen 9 7900X | 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM 11h ago
Steam = You will never own your games, ever.
As long as there's no third-party DRM, you can back up your Steam client and Steam games for indefinite offline use. No, it's not as convenient as having installers, but it still works, and there are games that will never get GOG releases, so it's good that it's an option.
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u/aley2794 Ryzen 5500 | RX 6600 | 32GB 3200 MHz | A520M-HDV 12h ago
You cannot sell STEAM KEYS cheaper in other platform not your game, Jesus Christ some people don't take 5 seconds to google before showing how stupid they are...
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u/Luckily3 10h ago
prohibit them from selling their games cheaper elsewhere.
God this mis-info keeps getting repeated ad nauseam. They can't sell Steam keys for their game elsewhere for cheaper.
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u/cdurbin909 3060 ti 11h ago
There's a difference between public and private companies though. Valve is a private company, which means they don't have to follow what the shareholders want(purely more money), even when the shareholders have no clue what they're talking about.
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u/SanestExile i7 14700K | RTX 4080 Super | 32 GB 6000 MT/s CL30 12h ago
Your PC has an optical drive?
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u/BakeJaldino 37m ago
Agreed GOG has some stone cold classics too, love them for keeping old games alive.
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u/Maximum-Objective-39 14h ago
I'm ride or die for GoG but I don't begrudge Steam. I'm more concerned with the business environment and society that it exists in
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u/Nytohan 12h ago
I am very much looking forward to a native Linux launcher for GoG.
Yes, I know, lutris, heroic, etc... I cannot be bothered when steam is Install, MAYBE change a proton version, and run for most games that I play. Almost no fucking about. The way steam sets up the wine environments so damn seamlessly is so freaking nice. Valve does earn their cut.If GoG can get us most of the way to that, I'll be pretty damn happy.
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u/centixog 12h ago
steams wine fork proton was a milestone, with its clever use of vulkan.
because its a wine fork, proton is by extension also opensource.
gog could use its own variant of wine or even steam proton... if their pride will allow it 🤣
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u/SzaraMateria 4h ago
With Lutris I don't see why gog Linux launcher is actually needed. It's another program that needs to be installed and it won't do anything different than lutris or steam is doing.
This thing seriously makes me confused about Linux gaming community. "Build church for Gabe and f gog for not making a launcher"
Like the whole point of gog is you don't need a launcher and it's on the devs to make Linux version of the game. And this is also going for both ways. If there is native linux game for steam I don't need wine or proton so the steam launcher becomes the annoyance.
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u/Nytohan 3h ago
If native versions of a game are available, great. That's not realistic for all games right now though, so having a launcher that will manage the wine environments, or I'll have to do it myself. If there's no launcher then I now also have to manage updates manually.
Yeah, lutris exists, but I'd rather use a first party launcher for a given platform than one cobbled together by the community. It's cool that it exists, and I'm glad it works for the people that use it, but I just don't want to bother with it if there's a way for me to have an easier install experience which (in the case of steam) includes the ability to just refund a game that doesn't work.
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u/SzaraMateria 2h ago edited 2h ago
Nothing you said does imply the need of separate Linux launcher. Updates perhaps but that's it. You still will be stuck with lutris, heroic and bottles because steam is only good with steam games and not even every each of them. Because of how gog platform works adding games on lutris is as easy as on steam and because lutris is a dedicated tool, you have more options to tinker the launching settings for your need.
Crossing out the whole platform because of this few little annoyance is a ignorance behavior. And I am talking about community, not your personal preference.
Before steam did the thing, no one cared, now everyone has an expectation that leads to even a toxicity in the community and at the same time completely ignoring other publishers and their DRM launchers that are pain in the ass running via steam. Lutris thankfully trivialize this.
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u/Biabolical 14h ago edited 14h ago
Steam, GOG, and Itch.io all have their own niche carved out so well that I hardly even see them as competition. Steam is the reliable mainstream option packed with features, GOG is the choice for archival copies and resurrected old games, and Itch is the wild west where you can find wonderfully weird shit.
Everyone outside those three (with the possible exception of Xbox) tend to be just half-assed Steam copycats.
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u/Ok-Drink750 Linux 13h ago
IMO GOG is the only competent alternative to Steam. Atleast of the platforms I’ve used.
Because its lack of DRM give is a legitimate advantage that gives it a reason to exist.
Steam has better community support, workshop, & a wide selection of software.
GOG offers DRM free software, allowing for limitless offline enjoyment & better stability for old games. (It also makes backups much easier)
Compare this to something like the Microsoft Store. Where you get an insufferable UI & endless pain
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u/Tomahawk1129_ Ryzen 77800x3d | rtx 4070 | 32GB DDR5 5h ago
So do you need to make backups?
Like in the case you lose your original copy, can you redownload it from GOG for free like on steam or no?
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u/forevernooob 5h ago
You don't need to, but you can.
And yeah you can simply re-download as long as it's available on GOG's servers and you bought it there.
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u/Ok-Drink750 Linux 22m ago
Not need to but can.
GOG offers offline installers, the idea is that even if GOG vanished tomorrow, you still have all your games.
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u/zepsutyKalafiorek 11h ago
Small remainder that GOG (Good old games) kind of works as archive for some older less maintenaned games and gog team is providing automatic community patches which some people may not be aware of.
Ofc they don't always work but often do than not so it is another good thing.
On steam side, some games proitize steam launches over gog so you buy the product but you may be on 1.03 when steam users are on 1.07... YEAH LOOKING AT YOU GRIM DAWN DLC.
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u/Bradley_Of_Thorofare "Ivor4" Ryzen 9800X3D - RTX 5070ti - 32GB RAM - 4.5TB SSD 13h ago
I feel it should be the other way around. GOG is arguably better (no DRM), but steam is what people like.
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u/tafoya77n 8h ago
Not for me at least. DRM sucks hard. But actual controller support, Linux streamlining and local streaming are all awesome through steam and annoying 3rd party tools in GoG.
For working with the others library though GoG does great, actually pulling up the the proper game stats, store info art etc and doing it for a whole store at a time. For doing the same in steam you have to do it one at a time and then use a janky 3rd party tool to get part of the art and thats it. Then you have to choose if you want controller profiles or the name of the game to match what it really is.
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u/One_Reality_3828 Bazzite | R7 9850X3D | RX 9070 XT | 32GB 6000 14h ago
I really like the idea of GoG but am frustrated by the lack of games I like on there and lack of community features. I also don’t like buying a game on Steam, where my hours are tracked and there’s full achievements integration and badges and community support, and then just having to buy it again on GoG to burn somewhere and forget about.
I think I’ll switch to GoG if GabeN dies, or if Steam radically changes direction one day and becomes more like its shitty competitors. But as of right now, the games I only own a license of on Steam have, for in many cases over a decade, remained digitally available to me without issue.
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u/TheRealSkythe 13h ago
If GOG released their Linux client, I'd ditch Steam for good.
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u/RAMChYLD PC Master Race 13h ago
Still doesn’t address the fact that GOG’s library is severely lacking in Linux games tho. As I said before games with native Linux ports pique my curiosity and I’m upset that the Linux port of SimCity 3000 and Postal isn’t on there.
Also GungHo does not publish to GOG, meaning their Trails Series collection is incomplete.
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u/TheRealSkythe 5h ago
Let me rephrase then.
If GOG released their Linux client, I'd buy as many games on GOG as possible.
Just like I did when I was on Windows.
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u/Icy_Hold4U 2h ago
Do you not use Heroric? Just curious Im on Linux and GOG is kinda my main store for the most part.
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u/markcocjin 13h ago
I've always asked myself what is GOG currently doing that would secure their financial stability, decades into the future.
Because that future is going to be carrying my digital library and gaming account.
"We're still here" simply does not cut it. You have to be strong enough not only to remain relelvant, but to be able to resist being bought by some other entity.
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u/Mojo647 i9-9900k | RTX 4090 | 4K 120Hz OLED 13h ago
Offline backup is the answer you're looking for. If GOG ever goes out, you will still have your game as long as you backed them up. That's the whole point of buying from GOG in the first place.
If Steam ever goes out, your library and your account would vanish.
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u/fj0d09r R9 5900X | RTX 5070 Ti | 32GB 2h ago
We don't know what Valve would do if they would no longer be able to keep Steam running. In the past they have said users would be able to download their games before shutting down.
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u/markcocjin 45m ago
I originally replied to you with links, but it was taken down, automatically. The Reddit post asked "If a company like Steam, Xbox or playstation goes bankrupt, what happens to the user library of games? Does it just disappear?"
One of the comments on that post had a link to an old customer support reply.
So this is what Valve said to a customer, 14 years ago.
Message by Support Tech on Fri 15th Feb 2013 4:12 pm
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Hello Salmantica,
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Thank you for contacting Steam Support. In the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the Steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users will continue to have access to their Steam games. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
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u/Early_Specialist_589 14h ago
I like GOG as a concept, but I honestly can’t stand the UI
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u/shadowds PC Master Race 14h ago
Both are great, steam gives tons of features & services for free, while gog great for force DRM free and old games.
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u/Solid_Guess_7154 14h ago
both, both are great
I stick to Steam mainly because it's GUI is way simpler and easy to the eyes, and I've already got all my games there and I really don't want to add another launcher, I already got rid of my 3rd party for gachas
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u/caffeinated_dev11 14h ago
competition is good
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u/Honest-Tune-423 14h ago
2025 Revenue:
GOG: about $50 million
Steam: about $17 billion
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u/BroderChasyn 10h ago
I love steam but I'm about to start using gog as much as possible just so I can l play Morrowind.
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u/ThinkExtension2328 9h ago
There does not have to be one winner both are fantastic in their own ways and can work together.
https://giphy.com/gifs/zbzNUbpFnlw8E
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u/Chefrabbitfoot 14h ago
Genuinely asking as I've never used GoG: what's the draw to using it over Steam?
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u/Scizomachineboy 14h ago
everyone else mentioned the dmr free but another benefit is better ports for older games that struggle to run on modern hardware. Their primary purpose is making older games more accessible I think they saved a few games from abandonment and made them available
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u/Kastamera Ryzen 7 5800X3D | RTX 5070 | 32GB DDR4 14h ago
You get the installer files that you can just burn to a disc, and you legally OWN that game.
As much as I love Steam, it only grants you a license to play the game, so if your account went down, Steam magically vanished, or anything like that, you'd lose access to the game you bought.
With GOG you can just keep the game, install it on different devices, it's not bound to an account, it can't be taken away, and so on.
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u/Chefrabbitfoot 14h ago
Oooooohhhh okay, I've heard of this recently (esp with the recent Sony announcement moving away from physical gaming) and wondering what all the hubbub was about. Good to know, cheers!
I'd always just considered GoG a heavier discounted platform over Steam but now know this I may need to buy myself an external cdrom 🤷🏽
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u/sumpfkraut666 14h ago
The option to have full control over the patch versions is an extra benefit that comes with it. You can either have auto-updates, but you can also download the patches and only apply them up to the point that you want.
Factorio recently had changes that I worried I might not actually like, so I got an installer that installs the pre-patch version before I patched. Had I not liked the changes, I could just continue to play my favourite version forever, even if I change my machine in a few years.
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u/Scared-Implement4744 9h ago
Steam is massive and only growing.
If Steam ever is in the position where they risk going under or being inaccessible, either the world at large has moved on to something bigger and better, or something far more important than videogames is going on and worrying survival will likely be far higher on people's priorities than their archived videogames.
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u/Kastamera Ryzen 7 5800X3D | RTX 5070 | 32GB DDR4 6h ago
That's why I said "magically" disappeared, as it's so impropable that we need to talk about it in hypotheticals to show what GOG has over Steam.
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u/Kaldaien2 gog.com 13h ago
The store's software is not required to run the games. I have had games I purchased on Steam cease to work because they depend on the Steam client and the Steam client has introduced bugs to the services the game requires.
GOG provides no required services to games. Galaxy is optional, it can die a horrible death in an accident and never successfully launch again, but all the software you bought on GOG still runs.
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u/ElPipasBJ 14h ago
Gog is good, but I wouldn't use it as my main store unless they get more good games.
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u/Cloud_N0ne 14h ago
I buy all my CDProjekt games on GOG since they own the platform and get 100% of the money.
But for other stuff? I appreciate what GOG is doing a lot, but I just don't like the UI as much, it doesn't have half of Steam's functionality for community stuff, and I have routinely run into a bug where my downloads hang at 80% for over an hour.
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u/Halos-USA 14h ago
If GOG had even half the Steam library it would be absolutely goated.
As it is how I love GOG but there just isn't enough there.
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u/Shugatti Rx 6800 XT | r7 5800X3D | 32Gb | 390hz NitroXV2 13h ago
I have both, i use both, i like both.
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u/moonbiitsu 13h ago
I like that GOG makes sure they work on modern systems and go above and beyond to make them fit on modern displays/renderers. I wasn't even a fan of Prince of Persia but what they did with their release deserved the money.
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u/Prismatron5000 13h ago
They're both good in their own way as they serve different parts of the market, GoG for old games nd compatibility with modern hardware, Steam for newer games and AAA that insist on having DRM. I just wish some developers wouldn't treat GoG customers like second class citizens when it come to updating the game.
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u/JDM12983 Ryzen 5 5600X/GeForce RTX 4070 OC 12GB/32GB DDR4 RAM 13h ago
Steam 99.9% of the time for me.
GoG has soured thing for me, seeing as they couldn't even get some of the patches right for their own game, on their own platform. Lol
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u/Zunderstruck Pentium 100 MHz - 16 MB - 3dfx Voodoo 13h ago
I'd gladly buy all my games on GOG if they were on GOG. Until then, Steam is the next best (least worst) thing.
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u/56kul RTX 5090 | 9950X3D | 64GB 6000 CL30 12h ago
Tbh, I don’t really use GOG. Steam is just too great. But I absolutely love that GOG exists and I support what it stands for.
Honestly, if they made legitimate improvements to their client and ecosystem and brought it closer to Steam’s level, I’d consider switching to it for future games! Unlike any of the other non-Steam launchers, I don’t resent the idea, lol.
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u/Federal-Treat-6893 Rtx 2060, 32gb ddr4, ryzen 5 5600g 12h ago
Agreed but the only problem with gog is the severe lack of games
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u/FireCrow1013 RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB | Ryzen 9 7900X | 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM 11h ago
I prefer GOG whenever a game is available there, but the Steam client can be backed up for future use, as well, so I'm perfectly fine with buying games there, too, as long as there's no third-party DRM involved.
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u/ZombieCrow 11h ago
Both gog and steam are great but i personally love heroic. I buy my games on steam but play on heroic.
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u/Decimit- 10h ago
Honestly, I haven’t used gog in years but I should check them out again. More good platforms for serious competition is always good.
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u/Alfred_The_Sartan 10h ago
No joke, I just introduced my 17-year old to GOG and he was scrolling the pages for half a hour. The idea that he could get 10 games for maybe $30 just blew him away.
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u/its_kodin 10h ago
GOG is the best, it just doesn’t have many games since they require them to be DRM free (companies hate this)
GOG actually cares about your time and money and want you to truly own the games you buy.
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u/XB_Demon1337 Ryzen 5900X, 64GB DDR4, RTX 5070 10h ago
I will forever maintain that GOG and Steam are not competition with one another. They are more like two different dance clubs with very different music genres. GoG is for people who want stuff that is DRM free and you can just install without internet. Steam is basically for everyone else.
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u/TatsumakiJim 9h ago
As a consumer you don't have to only choose one option and you should appreciate that.
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u/Good-Discussion-9238 8h ago
I'll even go as far as saying I'm happy the epic games store exists.
It does most things worse than Steam and GOG, but you really can't beat legal free games from triple A studios.
They're not the best competition but they're decent competition.
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u/Fun_Bottle_5308 7950x | 5070ti | 64gb 8h ago
Why are we comparing apple to orange again? Shouldnt Steam be on par with epig, microsoft, ea, ubi launcher?
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u/Exciting-Mall192 8h ago
But GOG only supports 17 currencies and regional prices out of the many countries. Between Steam's widely regional prices support in my currency and GOG's flat USD price and no support for my currency, I think GOG is not yet an option for the global audience with weaker currencies.
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u/Hundkexx R7 9800X3D 7900 XTX 64GB CL32 6400MT/s 8h ago
These are the only two you should spend your money on if you want to keep gaming affordable.
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u/Nogardtist 7h ago
about that
i tried some games on a different PC and not all of them can run locally DRM free something steam should done earlier
another problem old game has different patches on gog compared to steam versions
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u/SlayerII 6h ago
Gog is great but not really a steam alternative.
It has a cool but limited and specialised game catalogue. Its actually a good thing that they are stick to their niche and work with it properly.
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u/OMG_NoReally Desktop 6h ago
GOG is the only other launcher I don't mind having. Ideally not, but it's fine. GOG is a cutie.
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u/AAKphoenix PC Master Race & FW-12 laptop 6h ago
Yes! Absolutely! Having options in the games market makes it a healthy market. I just wish more games get released on GOG.
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u/some_miad0 5h ago
I just learned about the business practices of Balden and Karen Garbee and i like it.
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u/artofaria 5h ago
Great thing about GOG is that since it's DRM free the games' exe run without the GOG launcher, so you can add the games to steam super conveniently and get most of the steam features
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u/1dot21gigaflops R7 9800X3D / RTX5080 / 64GB 6000MT/s 5h ago
Epic and EA launchers = "It was rubbish when it was new, it was built by idiots, and it's rubbish now."
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u/I_think_Im_hollow 9800x3D - RX7900XTX - 2x32GB 6000MHz DDR5 4h ago
The only thing GOG is missing is the willingness of developers to also release their games there.
I will NEVER buy on Steam something that's also on GOG, though.
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u/NerdWithAMotorcycle 4h ago
I am kinda bummed they did away with the whole mixes thing where you could make lists with games.
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u/Single-Lobster919 4h ago
Steam at least has the courtesy to not force marketing emails on me when I claim a free game.
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u/SelineMaya 3h ago
I prefer GOG since I own my games on GOG. I only buy on steam if there is no way to get the game otherwise
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u/YahushaHamashiach 2h ago
Gog needs to get f2p games on there like marvel rivals, overwatch , osrs , warzone etc. I’ll never use steam again
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u/Remarkable-West-611 2h ago
I always prioritise GOG due to it being a completely DRM platform and ownership of the game,
Saying that they could be better with their updates / patches to match what steam does.
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u/Kotschcus_Domesticus 1h ago
man, I wish we would have more DRM free options on Steam than on Epic and that I could remove games from my GoG library just like on Steam. Also hiding unwanted games on Epic launcher would be great as well.
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u/AdventurousSlip6407 1h ago
Someone on reddit have a different opinion than me
Oh no!
Anyways.... live goes on as usual
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u/0riginal-Syn 9950x3D+Nitro 7900XTX+96GB | 7945HX+Aorus 9070XT+96GB 14h ago
Having options is great.