Remember boxed PC games? GOG hopes to bring them back

GOG wants to bring physical PC games back. The DRM-free game store is exploring the possibility of selling boxed versions of games through its online store. The company hopes to let customers order physical copies of games from their digital libraries, although several practical and legal challenges still stand in the way.

Marcin Paczynski, GOG's senior business development and partnerships manager, discussed the idea in an interview with GamesRadar+. In an ideal version of the service, users would be able to open their GOG library, select a game and order a physical copy to be delivered to their home.

You go to your shelf on GOG, you click on the game that you would like to receive a physical copy of, you order it, and it gets to you, - Marcin Paczynski.

However, turning the idea into a working service would be far from easy. Paczynski explained that selling physical games would require GOG to build an entirely different business operation, with its own logistics and storage requirements. The company would also need additional approval from publishers to produce and sell physical editions of their games.

According to Paczynski, the idea has been discussed at GOG for several years, but the company has yet to find a way to make it happen. He nevertheless remains optimistic that it could eventually become reality.

For now, GOG is focusing on a new initiative to preserve classic big-box PC games through 3D models and printable box art. It is not the same as owning a professionally produced physical package, but Paczynski described it as “small steps” toward that goal.

Discussions about physical copies of games have flared up again after Sony announced in July that it will stop producing physical discs for new PlayStation games from January 2028, with new releases available only in digital formats. The company cited shifting consumer preferences, although the decision has drawn criticism from players concerned about game ownership, resale and preservation.