GOG Lays Off “around a Dozen” Staff Amid Reports of Financial Issues
GOG Lays Off “around a Dozen” Staff Amid Reports of Financial Issues
A report from Kotaku has claimed that GOG is suffering from financial issues, with their source, a former member of staff, claiming that they were told the layoffs were a “financial decision” and that the company is “dangerously close to being in the red”. GOG countered by stating that the company was restructuring and that they currently have 20 open positions.Â
In an official statement, GOG stated that they “have been rearranging certain teams since October 2018″, a move with resulted in “losing around a dozen of positions last week”. The company also claimed that they have welcomes almost two times as many people into the company during the same timeframe, making it unclear what is happening to GOG internally.Â
Over the past number of months, the PC gaming landscape has seen significant change, with the Epic Games Store, and its lower than standard 12% revenue share, being set to have a dramatic impact on the PC gaming landscape. This change could force GOG to cut its revenue share of game sales, making the company less profitable.Â
In 2018, CD Projekt, the owner of GOG, released Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales as a GOG exclusive, only to later release the game on Steam after sales failed to reach expectations. When we contacted the Cyberpunk 2077 team, we were told that “Exclusives are not fun” when we asked about the game’s potential GOG exclusivity, pointing towards PC releases on multiple platforms. Â
While GOG is loved by many PC gamers thanks to their DRM free policies and the availability of many classic games on the platform, it is undeniable that the platform doesn’t offer the same reach as Steam. GOG remains one of PC gaming’s more obscure storefronts, at least outside of anti-DRM gaming communities.Â
Hopefully, GOG will prove successful moving forward, as their DRM free nature is a positive force in the PC gaming landscape, allowing PC gamers to download and install their software without the need to use an online validation system or client. GOG is one of the few storefronts where PC gamers actually buy their games, rather than purchasing access to them. If you download and store your GOG executables in a safe place, these games will be available even if GOG goes bust. The same cannot be said for Steam, Uplay or Origin.Â
You can join the discussion on GOG’s layoffs and reported financial woes on the OC3D Forums.Â