For years, GOG has solidified its position as a store focused on consumer rights, DRM-free protection, and preserving games for future generations. However, it turns out that the quality of many games available on the platform is lower than their counterparts on Steam or other digital stores. According to community estimates, this issue affects over a thousand games.
According to the user-curated directory "Games that treat GOG customers as 2nd Class," which has been compiled since 2018 and was last updated on August 11, 2026, GOG lists 1,140 games with at least one difference compared to versions on other platforms. The database already contains 1,531 reported issues. The most frequently mentioned defects include: 439 games missing soundtracks, 308 lacking updates, 278 with outdated game builds, 200 missing paid DLC, 111 with missing features, 100 missing language versions, 51 missing free DLC, and 12 with regional restrictions. The list's authors emphasize that the scale of the problems varies, ranging from minor oversights to significant differences affecting game content. Many entries include links to official information or user reviews as evidence.
However, it should be noted that the researchers did not place the blame directly on GOG. They pointed out that developers and publishers are responsible for preparing and updating their game versions for each platform. In fact, Steam, as the largest PC store, often receives the highest priority, while GOG versions are sometimes updated later or fail to receive full content. Another issue is that GOG requires games to be released without DRM protection. Preparing such versions usually means more work for studios, especially for older games that no longer have active development teams.