GOG’s Game Preservation Program Gets Tested Early By Blizzard
from the poof!-wait-it's-still-there dept
It was only a few weeks ago that we discussed Good Old Games’ (GOG) return to its roots with the site’s “GOG Preservation Program”. While GOG never stopped selling, you know, good old games, the site also expanded over the years to be a storefront for new releases and AAA games as well. But with this program, GOG committed to maintaining its preservation efforts. Games sold on the store that are also part of the preservation program now come with a commitment from GOG to keep these games compatible on modern hardware in any way possible, whether that’s updating game code and wrappers where the IP holder allows it, or packaging the games with programs like DOSbox where it can’t.
And now the program is going to get an early test. Blizzard recently announced that it is releasing a remastered version of Warcraft and Warcraft 2 and, as a result, have announced the original versions of those games will be delisted from GOG in a little over a week from now. Currently, GOG has a DRM-free version of those games in a bundle on the site. So what is going to happen to those original versions of these games once GOG has to delist them?
Well, for starters, GOG is incentivizing the purchase of that bundle by putting it on sale. And after that, true to their word, the preservation program will maintain those games, even after they are delisted from GOG for sale.
GOG (aka Good Old Games), which recently included Warcraft I and II in its Preservation Program, with a “Make Games Live Forever” tagline, suddenly finds itself with a new policy to figure out. So GOG is putting the Warcraft I & II Bundle on sale (discount code “MakeWarcraftLiveForever” for $2 off) and is letting folks know that if they buy it before December 13, they will keep access to it after the delisting, complete with offline installers.
That is also how it will work from now on, the team writes on its blog.
“Going forward, even if a game is no longer available for sale on GOG, as part of the GOG Preservation Program, it will continue to be maintained and updated by us, ensuring it remains compatible with modern and future systems,” GOG’s post states.
This is a preservation program in action. Once these titles are bought on GOG, the company stands to make no money from them in the future. Despite the lack of monetary incentive, however, GOG will take any action it can to maintain those games after purchase, updating them as possible to keep them working on modern hardware. I’m not aware of any other storefront that is making this kind of effort to keep older games around after the publishing company no longer wants to maintain them.
It’s quite a novel commitment, keeping non-revenue-generating games playable for buyers, even after a publisher no longer makes them available for sale. The Warcraft titles certainly won’t be the only games for which publisher enthusiasm lags behind GOG and its classic gamers.
As noted at the Preservation Program’s launch, for some titles, GOG does not have the rights to modify a game’s build, and only its original developers can do so. So if GOG can’t make it work in, say, DOSBox, extraordinary efforts may be required.
That’s why all of this comes with the caveat that GOG will maintain the games in any way possible. Where it’s not possible, the publisher and IP rightsholder still maintains a stranglehold as to whether this cultural output will be disappeared.
As I said in my previous post, the real work to be done is to build a program around these efforts with as much buy in from developers and publishers as possible. That would be the way to remove the IP shackles from these preservation efforts.
Filed Under: delisting, preservation, preservation program, video games, warcraft
Companies: blizzard, gog
Comments on “GOG’s Game Preservation Program Gets Tested Early By Blizzard”
I’ve never played Warcraft, nor owned them. I was more into Starcraft.
However I purchased the bundle on GoG when I read the announcement.
Will I ever play them? I don’t know, but I wanted to support their preservation efforts.
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Latest installment of TG glorifying video games and their preservation while ignoring a critical perspective: video games, by and large, are a frivolous pastime!!! The supposed importance of preserving these “digital treasures” caters to niche communities of gamers—people who often prioritize escapism over engaging with the real world in meaningful ways!
GOG’s efforts to preserve Blizzard’s games are framed as cultural preservation, but let’s be honest—video games are hardly on the same cultural plane as great literature, art, or music. They primarily serve as distractions, appealing to those who are more interested in leveling up their characters than leveling up their lives. The obsession with games as a cultural milestone reeks of juvenile fixation rather than genuine societal contribution.
Instead of championing efforts to keep old games alive, maybe we should encourage people to invest their time in activities that foster personal growth, community building, or real-world problem-solving. After all, no one except the maladjusted dork looks back on their life wishing they’d spent more hours gaming.
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Or maybe you should mind your own business and let people do things that make them happy?
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AI-slop, flag and ignore.
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I can’t tell if this is satire or not….
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I know this is just AI-generated stupidity, but this showcases someone who is extremely narrow-minded and ignorant.
There are games that help people see issues from a different perspective. That can create personal growth.
Gaming, as a hobby, builds community in and of itself, and there are specific games that take that even further.
And as for real-world problem solving, there are thousands of games where the main mechanic is related to scientific problem-solving, or has in some way ignited a curiosity in someone which then caused them to pursue a career based on that.
The idea that games are a juvenile pastime and nothing more is archaic and moronic.
Go watch “The Remarkable Life of Ibelin”, you assclown.
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You first.
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Video games are a $450 billion plus industry. You think all those people who make a living off them should flood the job market in other fields?
You’ve apparently never played a great video game that is itself a beautiful, elegant, and profound story-telling narrative experience. That just speaks to your ignorance and lack of experience. And a lot of beautiful music is made for video games that wouldn’t exist otherwise, especially without the opportunity or funding the industry provides. Video games include art and in mediums that aren’t as accessible elsewhere. Sure, you could do an interactive art installation in a city and only attract the people who live nearby and have heard of it or you can make a virtual one in a video game and people around the world can experience the art. Pick up Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice and develop some empathy for other human beings. Play This War of Mine. Play Paper’s Please.
You’re also missing how great literature, art, and music can be inspired by disparate sources, including video games. People have gotten married after meeting in MMORPGs. There are children who are alive today because of video games.
It says a lot about you that you don’t know that others might find personal growth in video games. I’ve learned a lot of great life lessons from playing video games. Playing the bad guy isn’t satisfying. Cheating and stealing everything you want makes life boring. Having enough money to buy something isn’t the same thing as being able to afford it.
An advanced aspect to video games is modding them. I learned programming as a teen because I wanted to mod the games I was playing. It helped me pursue an education and find a career in related skills even though I don’t specifically work in the video game industry.
This entire LLM bullshit is just an admission that you have a limited imagination, a lack of empathy, and a significant amount of ignorance.
Good on GOG. I don’t want to ever give Blizzard another cent, so I guess it’s the high seas.