Now independent, GOG is thinking about publishing games and embracing Linux

Daniel Sims

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Looking ahead: Michal Kicinski recently explained why he acquired GOG from CD Projekt and outlined the potential advantages of taking the retro-focused PC game storefront private. While remaining true to its core strengths, a less risk-averse GOG could pursue forgotten intellectual properties more aggressively.

Although Kicinski has not made any final decisions about whether GOG will move into direct game publishing, he told Eurogamer that such a move would not have been possible under CD Projekt. The parent company of CD Projekt Red prefers to concentrate its resources on original franchises such as The Witcher and Cyberpunk.

In fact, the fear of seeing those resources diverted was the primary reason Kicinski purchased GOG from CD Projekt. He also revealed that other bidders had expressed interest in acquiring the company.

Kicinski brings some publishing experience to the table as a co-owner of Retrovibe, which has overseen indie titles including Janosik, Impaler, and Project Warlock. Last year, Bartosz Kwietniewski, GOG's head of business development, told gamesindustry.biz that the company is interested in acquiring retro IPs to develop and publish remasters.

Under its current strategy, when GOG wants to re-release a game that no longer runs properly on modern operating systems, it works with the original publisher or current IP holder to update the software. Recently, the company partnered with Capcom to co-develop patched versions of Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, and Breath of Fire IV.

Kwietniewski suggested that GOG could eventually take a similar approach to Nightdive Studios, which has modernized numerous classics with improved performance and quality-of-life enhancements.

Kicinski also told PC Gamer that GOG plans to take a closer look at Linux this year, citing growing frustration with Windows. Microsoft's relentless push for generative AI has driven many power users to adopt Linux, which has seen increased momentum since Valve introduced optimizations for the Steam Deck.

A macOS user himself, Kicinski said he shares the frustrations of Windows users whenever he has to troubleshoot his parents' PCs. While some GOG games already ship with Linux executables, the company's launcher still does not support the operating system. At present, the easiest way to install and run GOG titles on Linux is through third-party tools such as the Heroic Games Launcher.

For now, GOG's owners say they will continue to focus on the platform's defining strengths – preserving classic games and keeping them available without DRM.

Kicinski believes this approach is the best way to compete in a market dominated by Steam. While GOG does offer some recent AAA releases, including Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the company plans to carefully curate its catalog, in contrast to Steam's strategy of adding hundreds of new games each day.

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Contrary to what a lot of gamers think, I believe this is a good move. CD Projekt Red was a fairly good custodian of the GOG Storefront for a while, but their need to maintain a game release schedule obviously was going to be front and center. This is probably the same reason Valve basically stopped making games until Half Life: Alyx: you can't be both a publisher and a game developer. Especially for AAA games, It's too costly to do both and the costs are only going up, over time, not down.

Additionally, if GOG is private, it doesn't have to answer to quarterly earnings reports, like a publicly-traded company would. Which means it can do the right thing,not just the profitable thing. I bet, while GOG was part of CD Projekt Red, they had to justify every single thing they did and why those resources weren't being "better spent elsewhere".
 
All these launchers needs to do a Linux and MacOS version.
Especially Epic Games, if they want to stay the 2nd most used.

GOG sure, however I am not a big fan of it. Lost several cloud saves on GOG over time. Never did on Steam or Epic Games.
 
I've been gaming on Linux for several years now. Proton is doing an excellent job and Wine just reached version 11. I will never understand the madness of reverse engineering Microsoft slop (I watched the documentary, work conditions at MS were garbage even back in 1980s, what can I say about 2026?) and making .EXEs work on Linux, but here we are.

I, for one, I'm happy that ship has sailed and I am focusing on the future. Which right now is finding a stable job - which is close to impossible on Earth at the moment.
 
I've been gaming on Linux for several years now. Proton is doing an excellent job and Wine just reached version 11. I will never understand the madness of reverse engineering Microsoft slop (I watched the documentary, work conditions at MS were garbage even back in 1980s, what can I say about 2026?) and making .EXEs work on Linux, but here we are.

I, for one, I'm happy that ship has sailed and I am focusing on the future. Which right now is finding a stable job - which is close to impossible on Earth at the moment.

Linux gaming is still a joke for the most part, especially if you play multiplayer games on a system built solely or mostly for gaming.

I mostly play indies and old games on my Linux devices. New AAA games tend to not work, especially not if multiplayer. Anti cheat simply not working, or other issues.

Microsoft is buying up game studios as well. They are looking to make Windows exclusive games to limit Linux/MacOS gaming and force people to keep using Windows, especially demanding AAA and popular games in general.

Windows has 99% of gaming marketshare, so they won't panic just yet.
The Xbox brand is not about consoles only anymore. It will become the term for Windows gaming going forward. Xbox hardware will just be regular gaming PCs, running Windows in the coming years. Microsoft will outsource the hardware / Other brands will be able to make "Xbox" hardware, as long as they will ship the systems with Windows. Just wait and see. That is the MS plan. Xbox as a console is dying. Not even MS wants to sell them. Take a look at current stock. Even sold out at Microsoft.com - Future is not a console as we know it. Future for MS when it comes to gaming with all the studios they buy up, is Windows exclusivity. Game Pass subs is the goal.

I use Linux on 4 devices, had for decades but my gaming PC won't go Linux anytime soon that is for sure. With a 9800X3D, 4090 and 500 Hz OLED I am not a casual gamer, which most Linux gamers tend to be. I want to be able to play ALL games, single player, multiplayer, COOP. I am not going to limit myself and I am not going to waste time troubleshooting in my freetime, on my gaming PC; which is build mostly for gaming only. I do enough troubleshooting at work and I use remote desktop and SSH for doing actual work on this system when needed. Directly to Linux clusters.

I won't limit myself to old games or single player only games on peak high-end hardware with a minimum fps goal in the 100s, always aiming for 400-500 fps with 200+ fps minimum.

Most Linux gamers: 30-60 fps is fine and if the game starts, Linux is good for gaming. Most Linux gamers thinks 60 fps is god tier in terms of smoothness. Most have never seen actual smooth gaming on peak hardware, running several hundred fps on 240+ Hz monitors.

Nah, no Linux for me on my primary gaming rig. Tons of games don't work, has reduced performance, bugs, issues. Most games have worse performane on Linux still, you can cherrypick a few games that runs slightly better but most won't. Tons of games have bugs, crashes etc on Linux. This is why GAME DEVELOPERS says WINDOWS REQUIRED in the actual game requirements. They offer ZERO and NO support for Linux, so you are STUCK if the game don't work somewhat fine.

Anti cheat is still the single biggest opstacle for Linux gaming and even Valve says this will take many years to "fix"
 
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All these launchers needs to do a Linux and MacOS version.
Especially Epic Games, if they want to stay the 2nd most used.

GOG sure, however I am not a big fan of it. Lost several cloud saves on GOG over time. Never did on Steam or Epic Games.
Heroic launcher is something you can use even on Windows and it works perfectly for me on Linux.

As for GoG this is my first place to get any game. And I usually wait a year or so if a game is not there. Thankfly didnt had to wait this long for kingdom come. Unfortunately some games are not published there so still have to go to other places and accept some stupid drm launchers.
 
Linux gaming is still a joke for the most part, especially if you play multiplayer games on a system built solely or mostly for gaming.

I mostly play indies and old games on my Linux devices. New AAA games tend to not work, especially not if multiplayer. Anti cheat simply not working, or other issues.

Microsoft is buying up game studios as well. They are looking to make Windows exclusive games to limit Linux/MacOS gaming and force people to keep using Windows, especially demanding AAA and popular games in general.

Windows has 99% of gaming marketshare, so they won't panic just yet.
The Xbox brand is not about consoles only anymore. It will become the term for Windows gaming going forward. Xbox hardware will just be regular gaming PCs, running Windows in the coming years. Microsoft will outsource the hardware / Other brands will be able to make "Xbox" hardware, as long as they will ship the systems with Windows. Just wait and see. That is the MS plan. Xbox as a console is dying. Not even MS wants to sell them. Take a look at current stock. Even sold out at Microsoft.com - Future is not a console as we know it. Future for MS when it comes to gaming with all the studios they buy up, is Windows exclusivity. Game Pass subs is the goal.

I use Linux on 4 devices, had for decades but my gaming PC won't go Linux anytime soon that is for sure. With a 9800X3D, 4090 and 500 Hz OLED I am not a casual gamer, which most Linux gamers tend to be. I want to be able to play ALL games, single player, multiplayer, COOP. I am not going to limit myself and I am not going to waste time troubleshooting in my freetime, on my gaming PC; which is build mostly for gaming only. I do enough troubleshooting at work and I use remote desktop and SSH for doing actual work on this system when needed. Directly to Linux clusters.

I won't limit myself to old games or single player only games on peak high-end hardware with a minimum fps goal in the 100s, always aiming for 400-500 fps with 200+ fps minimum.

Most Linux gamers: 30-60 fps is fine and if the game starts, Linux is good for gaming. Most Linux gamers thinks 60 fps is god tier in terms of smoothness. Most have never seen actual smooth gaming on peak hardware, running several hundred fps on 240+ Hz monitors.

Nah, no Linux for me on my primary gaming rig. Tons of games don't work, has reduced performance, bugs, issues. Most games have worse performane on Linux still, you can cherrypick a few games that runs slightly better but most won't. Tons of games have bugs, crashes etc on Linux. This is why GAME DEVELOPERS says WINDOWS REQUIRED in the actual game requirements. They offer ZERO and NO support for Linux, so you are STUCK if the game don't work somewhat fine.

Anti cheat is still the single biggest opstacle for Linux gaming and even Valve says this will take many years to "fix"

I meam, a very simple "fix" will come when Microsoft makes the kernel ring change in reaponse to the whole Crowdstrike mess as a way to avoid being grilled over hot coals over the access kernel mode drivers have to userspace resources, and said kernel mode drivers have included anti cheat systems, so if that change is implemented, those no longer work, and multiplayer game devs and anti cheat developers will have to use different implementations, which will likely make it so they can be made functional on linux or have it be worked around in some way. We could also hope game developers see sense and work on better cheat awareness themselves vs intrusive anti cheat systems themselves, but considering that it doesn't generate revenue and intrusive anti cheat is an easy way to blanket off the "this game is rife with cheating" comments (regardless of if the rate of cheating is perceived or actual) without much thought

Apart from these titles, its been perfectly fine and I have been able to play loads of titles having been Linux only for a year and a half now, sure Linux in general is not for beginners anyway if you are going beyond basic usage like web browsing and anyone without technical knowledge or confidence should stick to something like a Steam Deck or the future Steam Machine at best for a curated Linux Gaming experience, but I'd highly disagree Linux is not for gaming when every single one of the games that I have wanted to play have worked either through Steam, Heroic, Bottles or the like with a few minute check for what options to use on protondb being more than sufficient for most of my games, unless it was some old game that has crap like securom which would be a pain to deal with on windows anyway (you make it sound like you have to move heaven and earth to get a game working if they don't have direct Linux support, which is far from the case) -the only games I haven't been able to play are anticheat games like LoL and the like.
 
LIKE!
I'm a longtime fan of GOG myself and I say more power to them.
As for Linux....my personal experiences have been kind of disappointing up to a recent experiment with Mint but hey, maybe one day I'll finally encounter a distribution I'll consider 'userfriendly'.
While I currently still run Win10 on my boxes I would applaud GOG releases that run well on MacOS too so keeping my fingers crossed for that too.
 
They go Unreal in the sense "they are rewriting the Unreal Engine to actually work". They don't have Fortnite money but they have Polish attitude (if something is sh#t, they'll say it's sh#t)
It's a bit wider than that, they're writing engine stuff while collaborating with Epic to develop UE towards their needs and future standard engine features.
 
Linux gaming is still a joke
Cheap Anti is still a joke.
Now moving into kernel space.
Just as everybody and their dog wants. Not.

Cheap, badly written Anti-Cheat are just a poor excuse for not doing anything real about cheating.
At it will be worse.
Some of those "solutions" do have issues on Windows when you do not use the right Intel CPU it was tested on.
Some of them wont work after minor Windows upgrade.
Some have issues with changing GPU driver.
Many does not detect some ways of cheating. Even those kernel spaced.

Add to mix Windows on AMD, Windows on ARM, Linux on x86, Linux on whatever non-x86, any other OS on any HW.

Sometimes I think ... Publishers want cheaters. Otherwise they cut them once for good. At server.
 
Thank you Michal Kicinski for taking GOG to the next level. I'm happy that it wasn't acquired by someone who could of had an incompatible vision for where GOG is today and where it goes tomorrow 🤔

Also like to extend my thanks to Bartosz Kwietniewski, for the direction of, acquiring retro IPs and the idea of remasters 👏 There are so many classic games out there, and me and my brother have spoken many times on why studios don't remaster games. Its a love letter from the heart and mind, that the passion for bringing that experience of gaming we've had ourselves, to the generations ahead, so they too can share that joy 🤗
 
All these launchers needs to do a Linux and MacOS version.
Especially Epic Games, if they want to stay the 2nd most used.

GOG sure, however I am not a big fan of it. Lost several cloud saves on GOG over time. Never did on Steam or Epic Games.

Just FYI, Epic and GOG launchers already exist for MacOS. It's really just Linux where they're behind.
 
They go Unreal in the sense "they are rewriting the Unreal Engine to actually work". They don't have Fortnite money but they have Polish attitude (if something is sh#t, they'll say it's sh#t)

Based on every UE 5 game to date, I doubt they'll fix it.
 
DRM-free classics, curated releases, and fewer corporate panic decisions is exactly what GOG needs. Let Steam shovel content by the ton; someone has to be the place that treats old games like cultural artifacts instead of SKUs.
 
More good news for us Micro$lop digital filth haters. Combined with the damage Steam has already inflicted, this might be just the silver bullet we are hoping pierces the heart of the behemoth Digital Data Vampire from hell. I hope GOG concentrates all or most of their energy on Linux. We need to be done with the Redmond Reprobates and their cancer OS.
 
Cheap Anti is still a joke.
Now moving into kernel space.
Just as everybody and their dog wants. Not.

Cheap, badly written Anti-Cheat are just a poor excuse for not doing anything real about cheating.
At it will be worse.
Some of those "solutions" do have issues on Windows when you do not use the right Intel CPU it was tested on.
Some of them wont work after minor Windows upgrade.
Some have issues with changing GPU driver.
Many does not detect some ways of cheating. Even those kernel spaced.

Add to mix Windows on AMD, Windows on ARM, Linux on x86, Linux on whatever non-x86, any other OS on any HW.

Sometimes I think ... Publishers want cheaters. Otherwise they cut them once for good. At server.
No, people allowed to cheat easily in games, without getting detected, is a joke and they are free to do that on weak anti virus that works under Linux, as they don't block cheats at all. Code injection is easy.

Valve lowered anti virus on several of their games, including CS, to make them work under Linux, as they are pushing Linux gaming with Steam Deck and soon Steam Machine.
Which is why most good and pro gamers plays CS on closed servers with ID paired with their account ID. Tons of cheaters on public servers. People simply don't want to play with cheaters. Games are ruined by cheaters. Linux is heaven for cheaters. However, most big AAA multiplayer games, don't work under Linux AT ALL as a result and this is a fact.

Casual gamers like you and pretty much all Linux gamers might be fine playing old games and single player mostly/only.

99% of the games will perform worse under Linux as well. Game developers don't support Linux in most cases, for good reason. Supporting Linux is hell. Linux is a fragmented mess like Android. They can't sell a product, they can't support and confirm is working. Hence why Windows is listed in game requirements in all cases. Works under Linux too? Great but it is not guarranteed, not at all.

Gaming under Linux just adds another compability layer, as the games are made to run on Windows, you know, the OS 99% of PC gamers are running.

You can keep rambling that anti virus is not needed but it is not going anywhere and even Valve says anti virus is the single biggest problem for Linux gaming.

Pretty much no-one building a high-end gaming machine, will install Linux. Tells you enough.

Most Linux gamers, are using old hardware, playing old games, mostly singleplayer and don't care if framerate is 30-60 or 120-144 fps, meaning casual gamers.

I have used Bazzite, CachyOS (using on 1 device), Arch (1 device), Debian Stable (Server) + massively testing of SteamOS on my HTPC with 5800X3D and Radeon 9070 plus I have 25 years of Linux experience. Worked 10 years with Linux servers and clusters.

What I also have, massive experience building high end gaming PCs and Linux continues to be a joke when it comes to gaming here in 2025/2026.

NO GAMES run better on my 9800X3D, 32GB 6400/28, 4090 and 500 Hz QD-OLED under Linux, regardless of distro. My tweaked and debloated Windows 11 has better performance in EVERYTHING. Now tell me why I should run Linux for gaming. Already tested and tried, worse in every aspect.

Linux is GOLD for servers and have been for decades.
For gaming, it is still very early days for people with ACTUAL REQUIREMENTS on how games should run and for people that won't LIMIT THEMSELVES to only a handful of games. This continues to be FACT.

Do I hope for Linux to get relevant for Gaming (meaning, not just casual gaming)?? Yes, I would switch in a heartbeat but there is a LOOOOOOONG WAY still.

If Linux was better for gaming, you would see ALL PROS, ALL STREAMERS, ALL SERIOUS GAMERS run Linux but they all use Windows.
 
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Based on every UE 5 game to date, I doubt they'll fix it.
Arc Raiders, pretty much the most popular paid game right now, use UE5 and both look and run great. No stutter - Why? No Nanite or Lumen is forced.

Most people that get stutter in UE5 games, are using old hardware which can't really handle RT. However, sometimes it is also because developers are inexperienced and don't really know how to tweak and optimize the engine. Traversal stutter is mainly because of this.

UT 5.6 + 5.7 delivered big performance improvements and this is still one of the best looking engines.

CryEngine which I like alot, is rarely used. Much harder to use. Can get expensive too (especially if you need support)

Unreal Engine is used extensively because it is easy to use (gets more advanced if you actually need to optimize the games well) and free/cheap.

Maintaining an in-house engine is extremely time consuming and expensive. This is why many game companies switch, ie. Witcher 4 going UE too.
 
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No, people allowed to cheat easily in games, without getting detected, is a joke and they are free to do that on weak anti virus that works under Linux, as they don't block cheats at all. Code injection is easy.
Now you lowered your credibility a lot.

99% of the games will perform worse under Linux as well. Game developers don't support Linux in most cases, for good reason.
And that reason is called .... money (and time) to do things right)

I have 25 years of Linux experience.
Young one are you.

NO GAMES run better on my rig under Linux, regardless of distro. My tweaked and debloated Windows 11 has better performance in EVERYTHING.
You have tested only those who got minimal to no support.

Now tell me why I should run Linux for gaming. Already tested and tried, worse in every aspect.
Do or do not.
There is no try.

Do I hope for Linux to get relevant for Gaming (meaning, not just casual gaming)?? Yes, I would switch in a heartbeat but there is a LOOOOOOONG WAY still.
Linux was relevant before Win 2000 came to desktop.
Linux was relevant even after Windows XP came.
Lack of support for multiplayer made the mess where it is now.
And its snowballing.

Have you even heard about that chicken-egg timing issue?
 
Now you lowered your credibility a lot.


And that reason is called .... money (and time) to do things right)


Young one are you.


You have tested only those who got minimal to no support.


Do or do not.
There is no try.


Linux was relevant before Win 2000 came to desktop.
Linux was relevant even after Windows XP came.
Lack of support for multiplayer made the mess where it is now.
And its snowballing.

Have you even heard about that chicken-egg timing issue?

Linux gaming has never really been relevant, before now where Valve went hard with Proton and SteamOS, first based on Deb, and with version 3, Arch, which is the only way for linux gaming. Rolling updates is the way to go for best performance. Linux is not even close to be a true alternative to Windows yet, when it comes to gaming.

Linux gaming have massively sucked for decades and pretty much still suck.
Linux has been relevant mostly for servers and this is still the prime market for Linux. Linux desktop marketshare is low. Tons of native app support is lacking. Gaming marketshare is insanely low.

You use old/low-end hardware, playing old games, probably single player only or mostly with little knowhow on how new and demanding games actually look and run on high-end hardware. That is why you think Linux gaming is good. Windows is better and 99 out of 100 games will run better on Windows still. Also, 100% of games will work on Windows, multiplayer and COOP games especially will be a breeze, while many won't work at all on Linux. Another fact.

You can ramble all day, what I am saying is true and numbers back it up.
Linux is shite for people who demand peak performance, play new and demanding multiplayer games on the best gaming hardware. None of these people use Linux for good reason.

Linux gaming mostly works for indies, old games, mostly singleplayer titles and in most cases, they run but with reduced performance compared to Windows. More crashing, more issues, more downtime. Not really viable.

People like you, casual gamers, using old/dated and low-end hardware thinking 30 fps is smooth as butter, saying Linux gaming is good but have no clue about gaming really, don't change reality.

Gamers who actually build systems to play, demand 100s of fps. Minimum 1% and 0.1% lows matter and Linux is hit or miss, mostly miss in this area. Lacking anti virus support means tons of games are unplayable on Linux. The end.

I play games with 400-500 fps average with 200-250 fps 1% lows. Using a 500 Hz OLED monitor and high-end hardware. That is peak gaming performance. No Linux distro will beat my tweaked and optimized Windows 11 install when it comes to gaming. Also, I can play every single game I want, no limitations. Full PC gaming catalog possible. With Linux, not so much.

Now go back to your 30 fps on a 60 Hz LCD claiming Linux is good for gaming. Thanks for the free laugh tho 😂
 
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Linux gaming has never really been relevant, before now where Valve went hard with Proton and SteamOS, first based on Deb, and with version 3, Arch, which is the only way for linux gaming. Rolling updates is the way to go for best performance. Linux is not even close to be a true alternative to Windows yet, when it comes to gaming.
You only showing how much you have missed.
 
Linux gaming has never really been relevant, before now where Valve went hard with Proton and SteamOS, first based on Deb, and with version 3, Arch, which is the only way for linux gaming. Rolling updates is the way to go for best performance. Linux is not even close to be a true alternative to Windows yet, when it comes to gaming.

Linux gaming have massively sucked for decades and pretty much still suck.
Linux has been relevant mostly for servers and this is still the prime market for Linux. Linux desktop marketshare is low. Tons of native app support is lacking. Gaming marketshare is insanely low.

You use old/low-end hardware, playing old games, probably single player only or mostly with little knowhow on how new and demanding games actually look and run on high-end hardware. That is why you think Linux gaming is good. Windows is better and 99 out of 100 games will run better on Windows still. Also, 100% of games will work on Windows, multiplayer and COOP games especially will be a breeze, while many won't work at all on Linux. Another fact.

You can ramble all day, what I am saying is true and numbers back it up.
Linux is shite for people who demand peak performance, play new and demanding multiplayer games on the best gaming hardware. None of these people use Linux for good reason.

Linux gaming mostly works for indies, old games, mostly singleplayer titles and in most cases, they run but with reduced performance compared to Windows. More crashing, more issues, more downtime. Not really viable.

People like you, casual gamers, using old/dated and low-end hardware thinking 30 fps is smooth as butter, saying Linux gaming is good but have no clue about gaming really, don't change reality.

Gamers who actually build systems to play, demand 100s of fps. Minimum 1% and 0.1% lows matter and Linux is hit or miss, mostly miss in this area. Lacking anti virus support means tons of games are unplayable on Linux. The end.

I play games with 400-500 fps average with 200-250 fps 1% lows. Using a 500 Hz OLED monitor and high-end hardware. That is peak gaming performance. No Linux distro will beat my tweaked and optimized Windows 11 install when it comes to gaming. Also, I can play every single game I want, no limitations. Full PC gaming catalog possible. With Linux, not so much.

Now go back to your 30 fps on a 60 Hz LCD claiming Linux is good for gaming. Thanks for the free laugh tho 😂
Wow, how is 2004? Did Halo 2 turn out good?
 
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