Inefficiency Becoming the Platform Hardest Trust
GOG.com is a PC game digital distribution platform operating on the principle of not applying DRM (Digital Rights Management). Users can directly download installation files of purchased games, install without an account, and games remain even if the platform disappears. Starting with classic game restoration in 2008, GOG has maintained the concept of "owning the game you purchased." The 2021 Hitman GOTY Edition incident: after this DRM-free title was found to require online authentication (discovered late), GOG immediately discontinued sales -- accepting revenue loss rather than tolerating principle violation. What GOG sells: not a massive game catalog but consistency of promises. For a smaller platform, that consistency is a survival condition, not a choice. The "standard rather than alternative" position: GOG has kept the DRM-free option available in the market and prevented the concept of "ownership" in digital games from completely disappearing -- maintaining the market memory that digital purchase can mean genuine ownership rather than conditional access.
