GOG crawls out from under CD Projekt Red with a new owner and teases 'ambitious' plans for classic game 'rescue missions' starting next year

No one really does it like GOG, the classic and DRM-free digital storefront that, up until today, was owned by Witcher developer CD Projekt Red.

GOG always had you covered when you got an itch to play some old '90s shooter that you lost the CD key to long ago. And according to its new owner, it has some big goals for next year and beyond when it comes to expanding its library of classic games.

Announced today, GOG will now be in the hands of Michal Kicinski. Kicinski isn't some random suit, however, he was a co-founder of GOG when it started in 2008 under CD Projekt Red—which he also co-founded.

Everything about GOG will stay the same, including the games available on the platform and everyone's library of games. Kicinski preached GOG's goal of being a place for "freedom, independence, and genuine control," over the games you own in the announcement post.

"This new chapter is about doubling down on that vision," the post reads. "We want to do more to preserve the classics of the past, celebrate standout games of today, and help shape the classics of tomorrow, including new games with real retro spirit."

It's also pointed out in the post that GOG has plans to "undertake even more ambitious rescue missions in 2026 and 2027" that it will detail next year. Whether that's an expansion of its in-house Windows compatibility efforts with the Preservation Program or something else remains to be seen.

The post also confirms that CD Projekt Red's relationship with GOG will continue and its existing and upcoming games will still show up on the platform. This is also a welcome reassurance that the studio's recent deal with Epic Games for the Witcher 4 doesn't include Epic Games Store exclusivity or anything like that.

While the plans are to mainly embrace classic games and classic-styled games, it will also be interesting to see if GOG will also embrace being a safe haven for games that are rejected from other storefronts. Valve and Epic Games recently banned psychological horror game Horses from their platforms for breaking their rules on inappropriate content despite the developer's claims that nothing in the game was against the rules. Horses launched without a hitch on GOG and quickly shot up the list of top-selling games. Even though there aren't a ton of games coming out like Horses, GOG's insistence on giving users the freedom to own any games they want could help it become a home for outsider art that doesn't fit on the big platforms.