Decision To Not Use It "A Real No-Brainer"

In the aftermath of Diablo III’s troublesome launch, CD Projekt have once again come out taking the fight to DRM in games, simply stating that their online store GOG.com will never use DRM because “the truth is it does not work.”

In an interview with Forbes, Managing Director Guillaume Rambourg explained his reasoning as to why DRM does not succed in stopping pirated software from emerging online, as well as sharing his thoughts to the revelation that The Witcher 2 was generally ignored.

“I have to admit it was a big surprise. We were expecting to see the GOG.com version pirated right after it was released, as it was a real no-brainer. Practically anyone could have downloaded it from GOG.com (and we offered a pre-download option) and released it on the illegal sites right away, but this did not happen. My guess is, that releasing an unprotected game is not the real deal, you have to crack it to gain respect and be able to write, “cracked by XYZ.” How would “not cracked by XYZ, as there was nothing to crack” sound? A bit silly, wouldn’t it? The illegal scene is pretty much about the game and the glory: who will be the first to deliver the game, who is the best and smartest cracker. The DRM-free version at GOG.com didn’t fit this too well.”

Rambourg went on to suggest that DRM in general slows games down, suggesting that illegal copies are usually provide “a clean–and way more functional!–game.” He also took the opportunity to clarify that the Download Assistant for GOG.com does nothing more than guide users to their purchases on the site, and was in no way a form or DRM. You can read the interview in its entirety here.

We know many of you here have been affected by the Diablo III launch, and while you can hear us discussing the situation on the latest episode of the PWNcast, be on the lookout for further musings on the topic in the near future.