GOG's new owner will stick to its revamped classic and zero-DRM guns, but does think lessons lie in Steam's overstuffed embrace

Just before the calendar ticked over to 2026, Witcher and Cyberpunk makers CD Projekt revealed that they’d sold off their PC storefront – GOG. In a deal worth 90.7 million Polish zloty (about £18.6 million / $25 million), original CD Projekt and GOG co-founder Michał Kiciński bought the storefront and has now offered some words about his vision for its future in a Steam-dominated market.

Speaking to RPS’ tie-wearing and LinkedIn-browsing corporate sibling GamesIndustry.biz, Kiciński argued that the ideal approach to thriving in a universe that’s home to Valve’s puffing and whistling baby isn’t imitating it, but making sure GOG continues to stand out.

That commitment to getting classic games working on modern hardware and working to maintain them? It ain’t going anywhere. Neither is the store’s firmly anti-DRM stance, with Kiciński neatly summing up the issue of such software continuing to be pushed by declaring: “most corporate people, they make plain stupid decisions”. That said, the exec was clear Steam’s success does highlight areas in which GOG will be striving to do better going forwards. “Steam is winning with its ease of use,” he said. “In that regard, I think much can be done in GOG without losing its core values and the way it operates in general.”

On the flipside, there are things GOG’s current makeup facilitates which Kiciński reckons are key to the strength of what it offers the would-be PC game buyer. “GOG is a very curated platform. This is, I think, one of our strengths: we don’t release hundreds of games daily, 95% of which are really not super high quality, he said, adding that this relative lack of overwhelming rat race compared to Steam’s ever-raging battle for eyes can be a boon for smaller developers. If you’ve got something with unique flair that might struggle to break through the noise and reach players open to giving it a go, maybe being a bigger fish in a smaller pond is better. Or so is the idea here.

While GOG managing director Maciej Gołębiewski did point out in this chat that the store are “getting better at getting new games” with each passing year, packing releases from the current year alongside their calling card good old games, Kiciński was clear that competing with the likes of Steam in that area in future isn’t the goal. Though, he wouldn’t commit to anything concrete when asked about a previously floated idea which could be a natural way for GOG to double down on classics instead – making their own remasters in a similar fashion to System Shock Remake devs Nightdive Studios.

That path very much isn’t being ruled out, though. “It’s very close to what I’ve said about development and publishing, being close to those processes,” Kiciński said. “We have a very big talent pool in Poland in that regard. So it feels very natural to grow in that direction, but it’s too early to say any concrete things.”

Given hosting big mods – including the likes of Fallout: London and still in-the-works Skyblivion – has been another growing string to GOG’s bow in recent years, I’m personally hopeful its new ownership will keep that ball rolling too. After all, it’s another area Valve’s behemoth doesn’t have totally locked down, even if Steam Workshop continues to be modding hub of choice for certain games.