GOG Weighs in on Payment Processor Pressure, Calls It "A Game Preservation Issue"

GOG Games on payment processors

In July, major storefronts like Steam and itch.io were pressured to delist or deindex "adult or controversial" games in order to comply with the rules of payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. This sparked intense backlash from fans and developers, with many calling it an "erasure of creative works from digital shelves."

In a recent interview with Automaton, Piotr Gnyp, senior PR representative for GOG (Good Old Games), addressed these concerns. Rather than framing the issue purely as censorship, Gnyp positioned it as a broader problem of video game preservation.

“At GOG, as a platform devoted to Good Old Games and video game preservation, we see it as a game preservation issue,” Gnyp explained. “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.”

He acknowledged that some restrictions are unavoidable, such as content banned by law or delistings based on a publisher’s internal policies. However, he noted that unnecessary removals tied to outside financial or political pressure add an extra layer of concern for preservationists.

Unlike Steam or itch.io, Gnyp described GOG as a "curated storefront." He explained, "not every game submitted to us is accepted – we select titles based on quality, relevance, and alignment with our values and audience."

He probably means that while GOG may have rejected certain submissions, the decision is framed as part of maintaining a consistent catalogue rather than bowing to outside moral or political pressure.

As part of its efforts, GOG launched the FreedomToBuy.games campaign in early August. The initiative temporarily made 13 previously censored or hard-to-find titles free for 48 hours, with games like House Party, HuniePop, and Agony Unrated included.

In its announcement, GOG stated: “We are fighting back. Some games vanish not because they broke the law but because someone decided they shouldn’t exist. Because if a game is legal, you should be free to buy it.” Over a million players claimed them.

Although no new games have been added since that initial wave, the campaign served as a symbolic gesture against what the company sees as unnecessary interference in the gaming market.

Owned by CD Projekt, GOG has long positioned itself as a preservation-focused platform. Its DRM-free policy ensures that once purchased, a game can be downloaded, archived, and played indefinitely, even if later removed from sale.

Players have also initiated their own efforts to counter censorship. One petition, titled “Tell MasterCard, Visa & Activist Groups: Stop Controlling What We Can Watch, Read, or Play,” has already gathered more than 258,000 signatures, demanding that payment processors stop interfering with the distribution of legal creative content.