• expired

[PC] FREE - Import Your Steam Games (Some, Expanding List) into Your GOG Library as DRM Free Copies - GOG

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The way I understand it is that you will get DRM-free copies of the games you have in Steam in your GOG account (provided they are on the list which is expanding over time).
Apparently you have to do it within five days for the games below - if you do the games are in your GOG library forever.

NOTE: You can only connect ONE Steam account to your GOG account, so choose your main one with the most games.

As time of writing the following games are on the list:

Bit Trip Runner
Braid
Breach and Clear
BREACH & CLEAR: DEADLINE
BROKEN SWORD: DIRECTOR'S CUT
FTL: ADVANCED EDITION
GALACTIC CIVILIZATIONS III
MOUNT & BLADE
PROJECT ZOMBOIDIN DEV
SAINTS ROW 2
SHADOWRUN RETURNS
SHERLOCK HOLMES: SECRET OF THE SILVER EARRING
THE INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES OF VAN HELSING: FINAL CUT
WITCHER: ENHANCED EDITION, THE
THE WITNESS
TO THE MOON
TRINE ENCHANTED EDITION
TWO WORLDS
UNREAL GOLD
UNREAL TOURNAMENT GOTY
VVVVVV
XENONAUTS

Here is how it works (from the website):

To connect your library with GOG.com, sign in to your active Steam account via this page. NOTE: Make sure your Steam Privacy Settings & Profile Status are set to public.

You'll be able to permanently import all the games listed below to your GOG.com library – assuming you own them. The eligible games are limited-time offers made possible by participating developers and publishers, so stay tuned for more games to come.

You can connect only one Steam account with your GOG.com library. This process is permanent – choose wisely!

GOG was already my preferred site - now they have been elevated into legendary status!

Related Stores

GOG.com
GOG.com

closed Comments

  • +10

    . Do I get to keep my steam games?

    Absolutely, your Steam library won't be affected. Connecting your accounts will only get you more stuff: GOG.com copies of your eligible games.

    https://www.gog.com/connect#faq

  • +1

    Why would I do this?

    • +26

      To get DRM-free copies of some of your Steam games.

      • +6

        Or to ensure you don't lose access if Steam decide to ban you.. For say, buying cheap Russian CD keys. :P

        • +2

          Valve stopped banning accounts over 4 years ago. Now they just restrict them.

          Restricted accounts still have access to the games, but depending on what was done to earn the restriction you'll find yourself cut off from any number of things. (chat, market, trading/gifting, purchasing, key activation, etc.)

    • +6

      Gives you effectively 2 copies of the game. One DRM-free, one on Steam.

      • +1

        WOW!! Similar to what the Humble Bundle Store does with a large subset of it's games on offer.. buy it once and get a Steam and DRM free copy of the game.

        I have bought more games from Humble and GOG over the past couple of years than I have direct from Steam (not to mention that on Humble at least the developer gets a larger cut of the sale price than they do on Steam).

    • +12

      I think of it as "Why wouldn't you."

      If Gabe goes bust (stupider things have happened) you've got a second resource for some of your games.

      • +1

        Then "why wouldn't you" +Vote ;)

    • +4

      Autonomy. Access to these games won't be wedded to a company that may go bust (unlikely) or become 'evil' (less unlikely). Valve taken over and you don't like the new ownership? Too bad. Steam's terms of service changed to something you don't agree with? Either accept or kiss your game library goodbye.

    • +6

      On the off chance Valve releases Half Life 2: Episode 3, and it bombs, taking Steam down with it, leading to the collapse of Valve. Then at least I'll still have a backup copy of (some of) my games.

      … I got nuthin'.

      • +2

        HL2E3 FTW

        • +3

          This comment now has 3 tiers. Half Life 3 confirmed.

        • +3

          @nikkirose: So this means HL4 confirmed?

          Never mind. The comment didn't branch out further so I guess no HL4 :P

    • +4

      Also you can share your games with friends.

    • +1

      Fair question.

      I've never had/understood the problem with DRM. I'm a converted pirate, with like 350 legit titles. Win win. Dirt cheap pricing, with an slick util/ui, and mint cloud features…
      But they want to keep tabs on my purchase. No probs.

      • +3

        DRM can become a problem if companies shut down or you're forced to go through online portals. What happens when those portals close down? What if Steam shut down? I'm sure they would implement something but it is a shortfall of DRM.

      • +2

        I have friends which pirate and it irritates me when their version works better than mine. Medieval total war is an example. The pirated version isn't broken from forced patches, some games work better when cracked because they aren't reading off a cd/dvd, etc.

  • Thanks OP, signed up and connected (though the site notes potential delays due to high demand).

    • You are welcome.
      Re delays: are you surprised given this great offer? ;-)

    • It has been saying that since last night - I think it may be down for a while

    • +2

      Yep, I got

      Due to exceedingly high demand this may take up to several days, please check back later. Thank you for your patience.

      • was getting that message before…now i get "Oops, something went wrong. Please try again."

        I'm guessing maybe the server is completely down.

    • The best thanks is a +Vote

  • What benefit does DRM games give me?

    • +9

      Do you mean DRM-free games?

      • +1

        Yeah, what are he benefits of DRM-free games??

        • I'd like someone with more knowledge on this to chime in too :)

          Personally, I like having Steam to manage my game library, including updating all the games I'm currently playing (or still planning on playing).

        • +14

          For one, it means you don't have to install Steam (or GOG Galaxy) to play your games.
          You can log into GOG.com on a computer, download the game files, and play them without having to use a separate client.
          You could then copy the files to a USB and install them on your laptop, without having to sign into anything on the laptop. Just run the installer and play.

          It almost means you won't get kicked out of a game for going offline, like some DRM services do, unless obviously you are playing an online only game.

        • +12

          It means if anything was to happen to Steam, you would lose all your games because that was the only way to access them. While the same is technically true for GOG, with DRM free copies you are able to download the install files and store them somewhere yourself. While this seems backwards as far as today's computer use go, anything could happen in the future. Also as people mentioned, DRM can also limit how you play the game and usually affects people who have paid for it more than those who pirate.

        • +7

          Offline back-ups of games: You can load up a USB with games, and know that you can play them anywhere (holiday, staying with someone, travelling with no internet, borrowing a computer, etc.) or anytime, if your internet goes down, or if you want to play on an older machine with no connectivity (older games being GOG's speciality.)

          GOG versions are more version stable in my experience, Steam pushing more updates while the GOG versions just seem to work better and require less updating. Could just be coincidence though.

        • +13

          The biggest advantages are that you will not be forced to have an active internet connection to play or install these games, and that you will not be forced to update your game in order to play it.

        • +9

          You own a DRM-free game but you only own a licence to play DRM-ed games.

          In other words Steam can dictate how, when and where you play your DRM-ed game.

        • +1

          I can see you guys all making extremely valid points. And valid, they most definitely are.

          I guess I just sit in a space where redundancy of games isn't an issue for me personally. I generally only play them from one location and not having an internet connection is very rare.

          And at some point if Steam were to go belly up, I know I'd be a bit upset about not having access to my games any more, but no more so than when I've lost an old boxed copy of one I'd like to replay. I tend to look forward with games, rather than back too often. The convenience is worth it to me.

          Again, this is just my personal opinion :) And in no way am I attempting to disparage the other comments put here in favour of DRM-free games.

        • -2

          @theguyrules: Well I bought Witcher 3 from GOG, I need to launch GoG Galaxy to play it, same thing?

        • +2

          @frostman: Nah man i have witcher 3 and just downloaded it directly from GOG, i didn't have to install GOG Galaxy.

        • +3

          A DRM-free games

          May brings back the old memory in which your freedom [ in a broadest sense ] doesn't have to tie to steam.

          DRM-free allows you to:
          + Play games offline
          + Back up copies
          + Ease of transpotation

        • -1

          @frewer: I'm not limiting the number of reasons here, but it sounds like DRM-free really tailors to single player games that require no internet connection.

        • +2

          @frostman: You'd be able to run it without GoG Galaxy. I literally did it this morning. All GoG Galaxy does is run the .exe and keep it all updated, among other things.

        • @niters: Yes n no MMO is overrated any way. Sometime I feel like ppl just get on it n troll or do their own things, instead of main ojb

        • Also, Steam allows for Family Sharing of your library, but prevents you from both playing games at the same time. A DRM-free version means you can play it whneve you like, regardless of who else is currently accessing your library.

        • @clarenix0813: I see, I guess GoG client keeps it updated as opposed to downloading the patches

        • +2

          @niters: here's another one - how about wanting to play a game to find out that the licenced music inside the game has been automatically (on Steam) replaced with generic music because the licence ran out (eg: GTA series), or using your DRM Free copy to play the game just as you remembered (and paid) for it?

          or worse, the game is pulled entirely from the Steam catalogue so you're not even reimbursed?

        • @gizmomelb: That's a fair point. But I guess, regarding the music (and a lot of other things like it) it comes down to a personal preference. For example, in GTA, I would tend to utilise my own music instead of in-game stuff.

          [edit]
          This doesn't really cover off your point, I know. I'm not trying to make any kind of compelling argument for or against anything anyone is bringing up here for DRM-free games.

          I guess that it just doesn't suit my game management and/or life styles.

          Thanks for the input everyone, it is well appreciated.

        • +1

          @frewer: Personal preference really :) I tend to thoroughly enjoy the MMO scene though can see why some people perceive it as overrated. However, a lot of that has to do with the friends I play with. I don't tend to group with people I don't know in a game. I enjoy being able to explore/adventure/conquer those bigger worlds/universes/environments with my RL friends.

        • @niters:
          I think you have been very lucky never to have lost access to DRM encoded content (be it games, music, video etc.)
          I have had plenty of occasions where an update to a new PC meant that old software stopped working, and the DRM locks were preventing me accessing my stuff.
          I don't buy a lot of games/music/movies, but I would have more that $1000 easily. The idea that I would need to buy them again if Steam goes broke or doesn't support my preferred platform in future is annoying.

        • @mskeggs: That is most likely a factor as to why I don't personally have issues with DRM'd games. I, nor anyone I know, has ever lost access to DRM content.

          Having to buy them again is definitely an annoying prospect. However, in my eyes, I see that the only way around it is to carry your own physical copies of the game, which are obviously destructible (including, but not limited to CD/DVD/HDD/BD). I don't have the willpower/time or money to take multiple copies/backups of my games library, of which most I will never play again either. Relying on an external party to manage this for me with a pretty low risk of loss suits me more is all.

          Also, I do have to say that I like the benefits of Steam Cloud Save Games. It's saved my ass multiple times after wiping my computer and forgetting to backup all my saves.

        • @luka: Bollocks. When you buy any digital media, DRM or not, you're purchasing a licence to use it. You don't become the owner of any game you buy.

          Copyright and Terms of Service is what dictates how, when and where you play a game. DRM is just the technological device used to enforce those restrictions.

        • -1

          @mskeggs:

          The chances of GOG going bankrupt are many many times higher than the chances of Steam doing the same…

        • @GreatWhiteHunter: Difference is that you can still play the GOG games even if their servers go offline.

        • @CarbonTwelve: Assuming you have the files for the games on your PC or backups at the time…

          For mine GOG games just make them easy to pirate - hence all the GOG torrentz.

          I wonder how many games GOG sell for each 100 pirated copies of the same game??

        • @Oracle128:
          This idea about licensing is only true if you feel that contracts and terms are the ultimate word.
          luka pointed out you hold the means to enforce your ownership rights with a DRM-free media.
          For example, a click through agreement could insist you cannot make a back-up, yet Australian law over-rides such contract terms. There could be DRM that prevented legal back-up.
          The vendor does not have complete authority over the terms they release things under. To be facetious, if Google quietly changed their terms tomorrow to say if you continue to use their services you must pay $1m, would you pay? Almost certainly not, you would expect notification of the change, and likely a time to make other arrangements as a minimum. You would seek the protection of laws that prevent one party unilaterally changing an agreement.
          Or if OzBargain said you owe $100 a comment retrospectively, you would be motivated to insist the laws about retrospectivity applied, regardless of what the OzB legal licence said.
          You may feel a software licence only offers a limited set of ownership rights, and the license may say that, but it doesn't mean it is true.

        • @GreatWhiteHunter:

          The chances of GOG going bankrupt are many many times higher than the chances of Steam doing the same…

          yet the chance of gog.com allowing customers to keep a permanent copy of their game before they close is higher than the chance of Steam un-DRM-ing all games bought there so we can keep playing after Steam went the way of the dodo.

          Or even the chance of steam working out a deal with publishers so all licences bought can be transferred to another DRM platform.

        • @mskeggs: Nope nope nopedy nope. The existence of DRM doesn't affect what your rights are, whether they come from the publisher or law. Not sure what's so confusing about that. Without DRM the publisher can put in terms that you owe them $1m. You can ignore them, but assuming they're allowed by law (or a court would uphold them in a civil suit) you must pay it or the contract is broken, you forfeit your right to the product (and may open yourself to a lawsuit).
          Wirh DRM, the same rights apply, but the company just takes the money from your bank account.
          Notice how your rights didn't change regardless of DRM? Yeah, that's my point.

        • +1

          @Oracle128:
          Perhaps I was unclear, I don't actually object to a somebody selling a copyright work for $1million. If they find customers, more power to them.
          I object to DRM strongly because it fails always at enforcing legalities, because legalities are different everywhere.
          This works both ways. If the government suddenly allowed free copying, DRM would be illegal. It would impinge my rights.
          And, of course, DRM already does infringe my rights for edge cases, if, say I wished to adapt a work for vision impaired people.
          DRM is a poor solution because it aims to enforce some rights, while ignoring all others.
          I am fine (well, actually I am not fine at all) with enforcing today's legal judgement on what rights cost or mean, but the drawback of all DRM systems to date is they have enforced law at the time of their creation, and failed at enforcing nuances.

          If you feel strongly that IP law is important because without it creators would not create (really?), you need to articulate a DRM law that works across jurisdictions and time, so it considers everyone, not just right here, right now of the content creators.

        • @mskeggs: I never claimed that DRM always worked, was always the right solution, or even that I supported it. All I said was that the presence of DRM doesn't affect your rights. Yes, a faulty DRM that doesn't align with your rights may impede your ability to exercise those rights, but it doesn't change the fact that you have them (or not).

    • +6

      DRM does not help you as a player, it binds the game to your account so it may not be copied or shared, and sometime may not even be played unless you have an internet connection. DRM-Free is free of these restrictions. On the other hand Steams Community, Trading and Achievements, as well as thier permanent storage and updating of your games is also pretty cool, and always DRM.

      • +2

        I am also a sucker for the Achievements that come with Steam. Not to prove anything to other players, outside of friendly banter and shit-grinning with close friends, but to have more objectives to aim for outside of the general gameplay itself, in some circumstances.

        • +2

          My ex was chievo hunter. They way he 100%'d games was his sexiest feature to me.

        • While true, taking up this offer doesn't prevent you from continuing to play with the Steam copies…you can treat it as a quickly and easy backup service.

        • +1

          @nikkirose: lol thats the best comment ive seen on here all week, made me smile so thanks.

      • Steam made physical disc copies almost obsolete, can't trade in games because of the DRM and patch updates force reinstallation of the whole game and I cant see the conversion rate of prices when it is all in USD they could be overcharging australian customers.

        • Patch updates don't always force reinstallation of the whole game at all. In a lots of cases, only the modified files are replaced.

          I would also suggest not always buying your Steam games through the Steam Store. There are a lot of other places offering Steam keys at more reasonable prices. Check out isthereanydeal.com if you're curious :)

      • -2

        It helps drop the price, by lowering the level of piracy in the past. I'm more than cool with that.

  • -1

    GAME ON! GoG enters the arena with a bold move, will it effect the Goliath Steam? There is movement in the crowd, a few newcomers unaware of GoGs talents shift to the opposite bleachers.

    Edit: Actually read the list and realised I already own DRM Free versions of most of these because they are HB games :P

    Downvoted for pointing out they Humble Leftovers? ok, enjoy :P

    • +3

      This wont hurt steam, they already got your money, likewise it wont hurt gog, you wont buy games you own. Its VERY clever marketing that will buy gog alot of press and goodwill. I tip my hat to their pr team.

  • Due to exceedingly high demand this [connecting] may take up to several days, please check back later. Thank you for your patience.

    Done through snail mail between GOG and Steam?

    • +1

      Probably just limiting their servers being smashed, and it's possible Steam has enforced a limit on the number of requests that can be made through their API.

  • +2

    Thanks OP. This means I can finally make use of my leftover optical media to backup my games.

    For now it seems that there is high surge in requests:

    YOUR ACCOUNTS ARE BEING CONNECTED
    Due to exceedingly high demand this may take up to several days, please check back later. Thank you for your patience.

    • leftover optical media to backup my games.

      http://iforce.co.nz/i/jbeafjh5.u2x.jpg

      Am I missing something here? I've had my steam account for 10 years and never had any issues with it?

  • Ok my little Beta testers, tell me when it is done, mwahahaha - no really, I wanna know how long the transfer takes.

  • If I link the two accounts today and buy, say, The Witness on Steam next month will that appear on my GOG account? Or does this only sync up your list at the time of connection?

    • it will sync from my understanding.

    • If The Witness is on eligible games then you will get it as DRM-free.

    • -1

      why would you buy it on Steam next month? It's $33 USD (on discount) on Steam, but $25 USD on GOG, cheaper to buy on GOG anyways and then you can loan out DRM free copies to friends (I've purchased one licence for a game, if I'm not using the game then I don't mind if one of my friends use it instead).

      • +2

        Just because it's DRM-free doesn't mean the licence changes. It's still only supposed to be used by you (meaning 'loaning' it out to a friend is still piracy).

        As for why people would buy it on Steam despite being more expensive, for some people the convenience of having just 1 place to go to find your games list is worth it (personally I'm happy with GOG Galaxy, but I understand why people want everything on Steam).

        • -1

          BS - how is it any different to game sharing on Steam? ie: you're not playing it, so you are able to share your licence and let someone else play it.

          Not forgetting the old physical disc / cdrom / cartridge loan to a friend.

          Same principle.. if I'm not playing it, then my licence is valid and not in use but I still 'own' (and theres a huge topic for debate) it, so I can let someone else use it.

          However if I bought one copy of say Total Annihilation and then wanted to play multi-player on LAN using the same copy.. then THAT would be inappropriate and pirate comment worthy.

        • @gizmomelb:

          how is it any different to game sharing on Steam?

          Because the Steam licence supports game sharing. It is supported with restrictions on which games it can be done with, how many people you can share with, and it ensures only one person uses a library at any one time.

          Not forgetting the old physical disc / cdrom / cartridge loan to a friend.

          Again, different licence / legal situation.

          If you want it to be clearer, here's a comment from their FAQ: https://www.gog.com/support/website_help/downloads_and_games

          Can I enjoy my purchases both on my laptop and desktop computer at home?
          Yes. We do not limit the number of installations or reinstallations, as long as you install your purchased games on computers in your household. So yeah, if you've got a render-farm in the basement, you might actually break the world record for the number of legal Witcher installations in one household. However, if you think about installing your game on a friend's machine or sharing it with others then please don't do it, okay?

          So yes, what you are doing by sharing your game with a friend is against the licencing agreement. You can disagree with their licence if you like, but that doesn't change whether or not what you are doing is in violation of it.

        • @gizmomelb: ever tried to play another game on your account when someone is playing a game you shared with them.. Can't be done.

        • @nikkirose: that's exactly what I was saying. the licence is in use and it is enforced on Steam, however GOG treats you like an adult and it's up to you to not use multiple copies of the game under the one licence.

        • @gizmomelb: Pretty sure I just showed you that they don't want you installing your game on friends' machines.

        • @CarbonTwelve: I'm not installing it on friend's machines, however if my daughter wants to play Day of the Tentacle on her desktop then I'm copying it there and letting her, MY moral decision is not to play it at the same time (ie: one licence is in use), even though I could.

        • +1

          @gizmomelb: I was just going off what you said:

          then you can loan out DRM free copies to friends

          Which is not correct as it violates their licence agreement.

      • Just picked one game on the list as an example. I wasn't really aware of how much it costs, my bad.

  • +3

    Wow this is amazing, I love steam, but I aint no fool.

  • -4
    1. Buy a whole bunch of applicable games on Steam.
    2. Activate games on GOG
    3. Refund games on Steam within 15 mins or so (without installing or playing on steam to strengthen refund case)
      = Free games?
    • +5

      If I no longer have the game in my Steam library, do I still keep it on GOG.com?
      If a game is removed from your Steam account for any reason, such as through manual deletion or a refund – we reserve the right to remove the games from your GOG.com library.

      This is from the faq section

      • Yeah, that means nothing, cause humans invented copy, paste and hard drives.

        • +3

          You've been able to pirate games forever - it's as simple as searching "[game name] gog installer" on your torrent site of choice and you get the exact same file, with the exact same amount of legality as your method.

    • +3

      If you are going to that much effort, you might as well pirate them. Pay for your games.

    • -1

      Fun idea but probably falls under the whole "this is why we can't have nice things" thing

  • Cool, but why are GoG doing this? They certainly would be losing a lot of money!

    • +1

      Well they would if they put a AAA game up other than Saints Row, but they are Bundle games, they would have got them cheap or the developers permission.

    • +3

      People already own the games so it's unlikely they'd buy them again anyway. This at least gets them onto GOGs service and allows them to make use of one of their big selling points: no DRM.

      • Good point

    • To boost market share.

      It might encourage some gamers to check out GOG who otherwise wouldn't or haven't because all their "games are in Steam". From there people may be willing to shop from the GOG store itself.

    • +2

      I doubt GOG are losing anything.. there are already a large number of developers who is you ask if you can have a steam or a GOG key they will happily give you one, as long as you prove you already have a legit copy on the 'opposing' service. So I'm sure GOG just viewed this as an opportunity to provide this as a bulk service and liaised with the devs and the steam link is the auto check to see if you already own the games on steam. For the conspiracy minded it also allows GOG to raise their profile to Steam users who may never have heard / considered them previously.

  • GOG just sent me this … what does it all mean? Have they been parented by Steam, is the choice just an illusion now?

    OUR LEGAL AGREEMENTS ARE CHANGING

    We are making some changes to our Privacy Policy and our User Agreement, the documents that govern our relationship with you.
    We’re introducing an extra section to our Privacy Policy, and a small addition to the GOG User Agreement, to make sure that our new GOG Connect program is fully covered. Here is an informal summary of what’s new:
    1. Privacy Policy: For you to use our GOG Connect service we will need to access your Steam Data. There are some legal rules that Valve requires us to follow regarding this—you’ll find more info in the full Privacy Policy on our site.
    2. User Agreement: Our optional GOG Connect service is subject to Valve legal rules—please follow them. Check out the GOG Connect section of our Privacy Policy for more info.
    You can read through the Privacy Policy and User Agreement here. If you have any concerns or do not agree to these changes, please contact our customer support team.

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