GOG.com's DRM-free day one release of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, a AAA+ game by any standards, is a great case study. There is an even more recent research under way that seems to prove that dropping DRM in the music industry resulted in up to 41 percent increase in sales. Tor Books shared a rather convincing analysis of sales numbers in their first year after dropping DRM entirely, proving that removing copy-protection had no effect on sales whatsoever. You could argue that both music and publishing industries are slowly coming to terms with the fact that removing DRM actually boosts sales. We haven't been conducting any research ourselves but we are obviously up to date with findings from other companies. Have you been tracking data or researching how DRM-free gaming impacts sales? Wins, like the recent Xbox DRM policy reversal, caused entirely by gamers' strong reaction, prove that tolerance for DRM is dropping. Thankfully, the resistance from gamers is stronger than ever before. With no real progress in its efficacy big publishers and developers are trying new, more aggravating ways of copy-protection. Sure, some are more annoying than others, like the always online requirement which practically stops you from playing your game if you don't have an Internet connection available at all times, but all in all, DRM is just terrible as a concept. I wouldn't necessarily like to differentiate between those policies. Our belief in trusting and respecting our gamers who are part of GOG.com remains at the core of how we approach our customers.ĭo you feel that DRM policies are getting better or getting worse overall? DRM is an ineffectual tool (games are still being pirated at launch - if not earlier! - even with state-of-the-art DRM systems) and it antagonises paying customers, because effectively the pirate is getting a less constricted gaming experience.
Our founders' Polish market experience was important, because it proved that you could build a successful business model on trust, even in a difficult market. It's not always been a very popular value in the computer gaming industry, sadly. Trust and respect for your customer is quite a universal set of values, I think. Did the situation in Poland regarding piracy mean you considered DRM in a different way from other digital distribution sites or is it a universal problem that you were hoping to find an alternative solution for?
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