GOG gives all STALKER owners a free DRM-free copy

GOG continues to operate as if not being a dick to your customers is a sound business practice. Their new scheme, the "DRM-free initiative," is a small thing right now, but has the potential to become important for those people who want to continue to play the games that they own.

To test, I grabbed the GameSpy activation code from my Steam copy of Call of Pripyat and entered it into GOG's new "Reclaim" page. As promised, the DRM-free version was added to my GOG account, complete with the bonus extras. (Although, to be clear, the purpose of the initiative isn't to drive people away from Steam, but rather to help those with boxed copies to ditch the now non-functional Gamespy DRM still present in their retail version.)

"We're doing our best to add more games," writes GOG. "Stay tuned for future updates and announcements as soon as we know more."

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Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.