Capcom: DRM-free on GOG, DRM’d on Steam

On March 28, 2022, I published On DRM-Free Games on Steam, wherein I examined the status of DRM on Steam, shared resources for identifying DRM-free games on the platform, and offered my unsolicited advice on how Steam could make it easier for account-holders to determine whether a particular game has Steam-launcher dependencies or other forms of DRM. Alas, Steam did not take my advice, but there are still plenty of DRM-free games on Steam. With that being said, I tend to prefer purchasing games on GOG or Itch.io instead of Steam when multiple options are available because all games on GOG and Itch are DRM-free. A recent report on Time Extension highlights the value of GOG’s DRM-free guarantee. Capcom had released several classic PSX-era games on GOG in DRM-free states. It then released the same games on Steam, but with DRM protection. In addition to making the games less pro-ownership, Time Extension reports that Capcom’s choice for DRM protection has negative effects on performance. It is never too late for Steam to take my advice and add Steam launcher/third-party DRM information to its store pages. You can reply to this article from your own site by sending a Webmention.