GOG, once affectionately known as Good Old Games, continues to thrive in the gaming marketplace, offering a rich array of both classic titles and contemporary releases, including the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong. In a recent conversation with Automaton, senior PR representative Piotr Gnyp shed light on the platform’s ongoing commitment to game preservation, stating, “GOG has been doing this for well over a decade, and we’re constantly reaching out to secure iconic games.” He elaborated on the challenges involved, noting that some negotiations can stretch on for years. For instance, the beloved Diablo made its way to GOG after nearly a decade of persistent discussions. “Preservation often means knocking on the same doors again and again, hearing ‘no’ most of the time, until one day, it’s finally a ‘yes,'” he explained.
Securing Iconic Titles
This unwavering dedication has borne fruit, allowing GOG to reintroduce a selection of Japanese classics that were previously elusive in the West. Titles such as Silent Hill 4: The Room, early entries in the Metal Gear series, and the original Castlevania and Contra games are now part of their catalog. The platform also successfully negotiated with Capcom to re-release Dino Crisis and the first three Resident Evil games, a process that Gnyp described as requiring “time, persistence, and trust-building.” One of the highlights of GOG’s preservation initiative, launched in late 2024, was the re-release of Breath of Fire 4 earlier this year.
However, the path to preserving these digital treasures is not without its obstacles. GOG occasionally faces the necessity of delisting games due to rights issues or when publishers opt to sell titles exclusively through their own storefronts. Recently, the platform has encountered a more aggressive push from certain groups advocating for the removal of specific games. In response to this trend, GOG took a bold step by offering 13 adult-themed games for free, reinforcing their stance on game preservation.
“At GOG,” Gnyp asserted, “as a platform devoted to Good Old Games and video game preservation, we see it as a game preservation issue. Every year, many games are disappearing for various reasons. Every game that disappears from distribution is potentially lost to game preservation efforts. It is particularly worrying when games are potentially vanishing due to external pressure.”
