CD Projekt RED Is Selling GOG – WGB

After operating the digital storefront since its founding in 2008, CD Projekt Purple has introduced that it’s promoting Good Previous Video games (GOG) to Michał Kiciński, the co-founder of CD Projekt Purple.

The sale price is reported to be $25.2 million USD, which can make Kiciński the only real proprietor of GOG.

“GOG and Michał Kiciński are aligned by a shared perception that video games ought to dwell without end,” stated Maciej Gołębiewski, Managing Director of GOG. “In a market that’s getting extra crowded, extra locked-in, and forgets traditional video games at an rising tempo, we’re doubling down on what solely GOG does: reviving classics, holding them playable on fashionable PCs, and serving to nice video games discover their viewers over time”

Kiciński was eager to emphasize GOG’s authentic mission. “When Marcin Iwiński and I got here up with the concept for GOG, the imaginative and prescient was easy: carry traditional video games again to gamers and be sure that as soon as you purchase a sport, it really belongs to you — without end.”

One in every of GOG’s greatest promoting factors has at all times been that every one video games bought on the platform are DRM-free. In sensible phrases, which means you’re free to maneuver, set up, and play your video games wherever you want, with out having to consistently confirm possession or keep on-line.

Kiciński’s funding for the acquisition is available in half from his 10% stake in CD Projekt Purple, but additionally from Mudita, an organization he owns and operates that focuses on minimalist know-how. Mudita is greatest identified for gadgets like an E-ink telephone with no web entry, and was based with the aim of combating digital dependancy, info overload, and smartphone radiation.

For Kiciński, then, this acquisition feels very very like a return to his roots. After co-founding each CD Projekt Purple and GOG, he suffered burnout after 13 years of labor and stepped away to concentrate on Mudita as a substitute. Shopping for again GOG completes a full-circle journey — one which additionally ties into his ongoing involvement with a number of indie sport initiatives.

“I’m personally concerned within the growth of some video games like that and they’ll actually make their sturdy look on GOG in 2026,” Kiciński stated. It was additionally confirmed that every one future CD Projekt Purple titles will proceed to launch on GOG as properly.

As for CD Projekt Purple, the corporate says the choice to promote GOG is about focus. Spinning off the storefront permits the studio to place all of its power into delivering on its bold growth roadmap.

GOG, in the meantime, has had a troublesome few years. The platform at the moment holds round a 1.2% market share and operates on slim margins, whereas additionally coping with comparatively excessive working prices. Just the other year, it posted a sharp revenue decline. A current push towards preserving older titles — an admirable aim — has solely added to these bills.

Even so, GOG has continued to maintain going, and it could be an actual disgrace to see it disappear. With one among its authentic founders again on the helm, there’s hope that Kiciński can hold the platform afloat whereas staying true to the beliefs that made GOG particular within the first place.