This is your friendly reminder, that the Stop Kiling Games campaign is still running. I haven’t been posting updates for a while, because progress has slowed considerably over the last month and there hasn’t been anything to write about. But it feels relevant here.
(Campaign only running in select jurisdictions, the US is not one if them)
GOG is getting a nice little pr moment off of this but you’re getting basically the same license, no matter where you buy the game.
The root of evil in digital distribution is the DMCA anti circumvention clause: it is illegal to circumvent a DRM protection to gain access to some copyrighted work, even if you in actuality possess a license to the work. This law gives big platforms far too much power to control how you interact with their products.
It should be legal to modify a work to allow it to be played offline, to make copies for archival purposes, to fix the work to run on newer platforms, etc. As long as you have a license to the work you should be allowed to take steps to ensure your rightful access to it.
By the way, the root beyond roots of evil in digital distribution is the insane length of copyrights themselves. Why are patents 20 years, but copyright extends to 120+? The answer is pure greed.
Non DRM Steam games also cannot be taken away from you once downloaded. To be fair GoG installers are a lot more accessible though.
I really don’t understand the people who think this makes a difference. It is not Steam or GOG that decides how to sell you the game, it is the copyright owner enabled to do so by the lawmakers in the relevant jurisdiction(s).
The only real difference is being fairly certain that anything you buy on GOG will be DRM-free, since that is their stated policy and they offer the standalone installers for download. Granted they also offer a launcher like Steam, and if you’re only using that then you’re no better off; if a game gets delisted and you don’t have the installers archived you may be out of luck, depending on the details.
That said you are right, the problem is the laws and the publishers. But getting access to those offline installers certainly doesn’t hurt, in the meantime.
Didn’t this happen weeks ago?
Also: as the French Monk incident taught us: this ain’t worth shit when the site is closing down in 48 hours and every server is on fire.
In all cases? You are pirating what is “yours”
Yar har har matey!
