DRM-free Steam alternative GOG is no longer owned by CD Projekt

Michał Kiciński, co-founder and major shareholder of the Polish publisher CD Projekt, has acquired all shares of GOG.com. As a result, the publisher is no longer owned by CD Projekt. In a press release, the online game store emphasizes that GOG.com will continue to operate independently and remain faithful to its DRM-free philosophy.

The cooperation between GOG and CD Projekt will continue, so games like The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077 can still be purchased on GOG without DRM protection. Since GOG remains in the hands of the original founder, nothing is expected to change for gamers as a result of this acquisition. Due to its independence from CD Projekt, GOG might become a more attractive platform for game developers, as they don’t have to be afraid of being disadvantaged compared to games from CD Projekt Red.

Michał Kiciński is paying 90.7 million Polish Zloty for this acquisition, which translates to approximately $25.25 million. In 2024, GOG generated approximately $55.46 million in revenue, with a profit of just $316,240. This puts GOG's revenue at less than 0.5% compared to the revenue that the PC gaming market leader Steam was able to generate in the same year. This significant difference is caused by the fact that many current games are not available on GOG, since many publishers do not want to release titles without DRM in order to combat piracy as much as possible.