When GOG announced that it would be introducing regional pricing back in February, my heart sank a little bit. Its fair, flat pricing model was part of its founding tenets along with only offering DRM-free games. The change was only going to affect some games, but it would still mean that customers in Europe and elsewhere would end up paying more for the same game than consumers in the US.
The point of all this was so GOG could offer more DRM-free games; ones where the publisher didn’t accept the platform’s Fair Price plan. But feedback from users has caused GOG to scrap this, Marcin Iwinski and Guillaume Rambourg revealed in a blog post. “We didn’t listen and we let you down. We shouldn’t sacrifice one of our core values in an attempt to advance another.”
It will probably take longer for some games to appear on GOG now, but it means that users outside of the US won’t be getting the short shrift.
In some cases, a regional pricing model will be necessary, but surprisingly, GOG’s willing to take a hit to offer users better value. “We will adamantly continue to fight for games with flat worldwide pricing. If that fails and we are required to have regional prices, we will make up the difference for you out of our own pockets. For now it will be with $5.99 and $9.99 game codes. In a couple of months, once we have such functionality implemented, we will give you store credit instead.” This will be the case with Divinity: Original Sin, Age of Wonders III and The Witcher 3.
Pricing in local currencies will still be implemented, but it will be entirely optional and just for convenience. It will be entirely absent exchange rates, transaction fees and hidden costs. So you’ll still be able to pay in USD, or you can switch to your local currency.
“The bottom line is simple: there may be companies that won’t work with us (although we will work hard to convince the most stubborn ones ;). Yes, it means we might miss out on some games, but at the same time GOG.com will remain true to its values and will keep on offering you the best of DRM-free gaming with Fair Prices.”