GOG vs Steam: Which Platform is Best for Buying Games in 2024?

PC Gamers are expected to find many platforms to purchase the game of their choice. There exist a large number of services such as Ubisoft Connect, EA Play, and whatnot, however, they contain games exclusive to their own franchise.

In terms of large game distributors, we have the Epic Games Store, GOG, and Steam whose catalogs seep through every genre and distributor. If you wish to purchase a game common amongst these platforms, it becomes a tricky choice as to which platform you should choose.

Today’s guide revolves around Steam and GOG, wherein we will discuss what each service has to offer and its drawbacks. To the average user, price is all that matters but sometimes you may run into situations where you require better customer service, community features, or DRM-free software.

What is Steam?

Steam is a digital video game distribution service that launched back in late 2003. It is undoubtedly, the largest video game platform on PC, and the backbone of PC gaming that makes it a strong competitor against consoles.

By default, gamers name “Steam” as their go-to choice for purchasing any game. With time, Steam has expanded its services and even launched its own handheld device, the Steam Deck. Likewise, the Steam platform is not just for playing games, rather it has its community, and an entire marketplace.

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What is GOG?

Similar to Steam, GOG (Good Old Games) is another digital video game distribution platform that was founded in 2008. It is operated by a subsidiary of CD Projekt, famous for developing Cyberpunk and the Witcher series.

It is easy to push GOG aside as a secondary choice, given it has a limited number of titles as compared to Steam. However, GOG offers something unique and that is a DRM-free experience. We’ll talk in detail regarding this later.

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Differences Between GOG vs Steam

Let’s discuss the major differences across various segments between GOG and Steam. The question of “GOG or Steam” will boil down to your preferences in the end.

1) Game Library

By game library, we are not referring to the UI or layout, but the total number of games each service offers. Going by Backlinko’s statistics, Steam has 101,035 games in total, which increases up to 179,934 titles if you include DLCs and soundtracks.

If we visit the “All Games” section on GOG, the store currently hosts 9837 games. It can be said that Steam’s game library is almost 10x what GOG has to offer. This is mainly attributed to the fact that GOG only allows games without any DRM protection, which are limited in number.

In terms of exclusives, GOG offers users many DRM-free classics. Steam doesn’t push developers to forgo other stores and opt for a “Steam-only” experience. That said, many games can only be found on Steam at times, for PC.

• Steam has a much larger library than GOG.
• GOG’s primary focus is classics and DRM-free games.

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2) Linux Experience

In recent years, thanks to the Steam Deck, Steam has been one of the pioneers of the concept of “Gaming on Linux. You can play most Steam Deck-verified titles on Linux using the Proton compatibility layer, a derivative of Wine.

GOG doesn’t have a native launcher and you’ll need to install a 3rd party app like the Heroic Games Launcher. Heroic Games Launcher can easily add your purchased games on GOG to Steam to run them through Proton. It is pertinent to mention that Heroic Games Launcher (HGL) is a partner of GOG and open source.

However, the added necessity of requiring a 3rd party tool with GOG does give 1 point to Steam. It is to be noted that not all games will run via Proton and you may need to do some research. Visit this website to see if your game is Steam Deck verified or not, ensuring that it’ll run on PC through Proton.

• You can play Steam Deck-verified titles through the Steam launcher on Linux with Proton.
• With GOG, you have to install 3rd party launchers (HGL is an official partner of GOG) to play any non-native game on Linux.

3) Pricing and Sales

Pricing is a twofold topic that concerns sales and regional prices. Steam has 4 guaranteed major sales each year, with Summer and Winter being the largest and lasting for 2 weeks each. The remaining Autumn and Spring sales stick around for a week or so.

There are also small weekly genre-based sales for specific titles and genres. You can get an idea regarding the next Steam Fest or major sale at SteamDB. As for regional pricing, Steam offers this feature in almost every major country/region. Again, we suggest you search for your favorite game at SteamDB and check the price in your region.

GOG also offers 4 major quarterly sales for each season like Steam. It also has specially themed sales for different occasions. The regional pricing part is tricky since GOG only supports a limited number of regions. If you’re one of the unlucky folks, you may have to pay through the nose.

• Steam and GOG have comparable sales and prices.
• Steam has better regional pricing support than GOG.

READ MORE: How to See Any Game’s Steam Price History in 2024 ➜

4) DRM

The largest reason people prefer GOG over other options is its DRM-free policy. Games you find on GOG will be free of any DRM or Digital Rights Management protection. This is an additional layer of security on the software level that prevents games and other media from being distributed.

DRM often impacts game performance negatively. When purchasing a game on Steam, you don’t own the game, but acquire a digital license that may be revoked at any moment. In contrast, GOG is entirely DRM-free, allowing you to enjoy your favorite games offline and without restrictions on how many times you play them.

Steam does not endorse or promote DRMs, but it depends on the publishers. Most games on Steam use SteamDRM, which is basically for ownership purposes and not for anti-piracy reasons. However, this only allows 1 instance of the game on your account and has other limitations.

On the other hand, GOG hands over the complete setup files which do not ask for any verification or CD Key whatsoever. You can use it offline, hand it over to a friend (Technically piracy), store it on a Hard Drive or USB, and brag 20 years later if the game gets removed from other digital stores (Yes, that happens frequently).

• Steam games either use Denuvo or SteamDRM, limiting the shareability and usability of your game files.
• GOG provides users with a DRM-free version with no ownership verification, log-in checks, CD Key requirements, or middleware software.

5) UI and Features

A large differentiator between GOG and Steam is the UI and software experience. Steam is much more mature and is undoubtedly superior in terms of features. On Steam, you have workshops for mods, a marketplace for selling in-game items, a large community for support and many argue that Steam is not a game launcher, but an ecosystem in itself.

GOG has most of the basics nailed down, however, it misses out on other stuff such as a marketplace, workshop etcetera. Essentially, due to its DRM-free nature, GOG games can run standalone without using any launcher at all. However, if you care about achievements, cloud saving, multiplayer, and play time records, you have to use the launcher in the background.

Aside from the glam and glitter, while playing games you’ll barely make use of these features. It can be argued that Steam’s overlay is better than GOG. In the end, it depends if you prefer fewer features and a straightforward UI to play your games for a DRM-free experience or not.

• Steam takes the lead with its marketplace, workshop, trading, and feature-rich User Interface.
• GOG prefers simplicity with the reason being that most GOG users appreciate the DRM-free experience and have the option to play their games without a launcher.

6) Customer Support

In terms of customer service, both Steam and GOG have decent reputations. Steam is known for offering an automatic refund within the first 2 hours of playtime. There are popular series on YouTube by various YouTubers where they try to speedrun a game in 2 hours and see if they get a refund. Spoiler: They do.

GOG has a manual refund option that is human-verified to protect developers which can be availed in the first 30 days of purchase. While GOG’s policy seems lenient, they rely on their customer base to not abuse this system.

• Steam’s automated policy is convenient for users who don’t want too much hassle and a guaranteed refund.
• GOG’s policy is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and is longer than Steam’s, however, a refund is not guaranteed.

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The DRM-Free Experience

Since both platforms offer you the same playable game, the devil is in the details. If you like using community features such as the marketplace, showing off your badges, and whatnot, Steam is the go-to option.

Often overlooked, GOG’s motive is to offer game preservation. If you purchase a game from GOG and download the install files, you’re not tied to a server, a DRM, or anything if you want to play the game. You only need a computer and a house (optional), that’s literally it.

It is your choice if you want to store those files on a USB for future use. Just recently, Ubisoft delisted The Crew, a full-price game that requires an active internet connection from Steam. The result? You cannot play the game, even in single-player mode or against an AI. That game is now lost to history, which would not have been the case if it were DRM-free.

As much as we hate to say it, digital copies with DRMs like Denuvo put you in no less than a complete hostage situation. If said developer wishes, they can revoke your “digital license” and ability to play the game at all, no matter if it is single-player or not. This is why there has been a large uproar against online-only and Denuvo game titles.

All things considered, you won’t expect Denuvo or online-only games to be readily available at GOG. It’s not like developers will explicitly choose to launch a game with Denuvo on Steam and launch the same game, DRM-free on GOG. That rarely happens (An example is Middle Earth: Shadow of War).

↪ Steam is Not at Fault

It’s not like Steam is asking developers to add pesky DRMs and invasive software to their games. As we said above, if a game has Denuvo, you won’t likely find it DRM-free on GOG due to piracy concerns. Technically, you can run games on Steam in Offline Mode indefinitely, so what’s the point of this “DRM-free” thing we’ve been saying for a while?

Imagine this, Steam is inaccessible in your country due to sanctions and you forgot to log in or accidentally pressed logout. Now you cannot access your library at all. On the contrary, if you have an offline installation from GOG stored on a USB (Remember what we said), no one can stop you from playing your favorite games.

Generally, Steam has one of the best DRM policies after GOG so the difference is minimal between the two. Having access to complete installation files that can be used launcher-free, is again, for greater assurance and peace of mind.

↪ Ownership Crisis

Do you actually own the games you purchase? It is undeniable that physical media is king, well until it isn’t. Steam and other platforms cannot really do much when the developers themselves decide to pull the plug on a certain game or franchise. A popular example is Helldivers 2, where a sudden bizarre policy change by Sony rendered millions unable to play the game.

A digital copy is nothing more than a subscription or a license. The best course of action is to review the policies and track record of the publishers, rather than the game launchers. There are many different routes that publishers may choose. They may delist the game, but allow future downloads indefinitely and multiplayer access (Forza Horizon 4).

Another possibility is to shut down multiplayer access and future purchases, but enable users to download what they digitally own (Wii U & 3DS EShop servers). It is sad to see that slowly but surely, physical media is being phased out. Moreover, the inclusion of online-only DRMs in single-player titles not only sounds absurd but poses a serious threat to game preservation.

“You’ll own nothing and be happy“

World Economic Forum

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Conclusion

As we’ve discussed above, Steam packs a richer UI and much more features than GOG. Steam is more of an ecosystem at this point rather than a game launcher. GOG, on the other side, makes you feel as if you actually own the game, instead of borrowing it.

Coming back to what we said in the beginning, if you just want to play your games without spending a fortune, just choose the cheaper platform. Both platforms have their pros and cons which are indispensable for some.