While the new GOG Galaxy 2.0 does sync all your libraries under one app it still requires all the original launchers where your original games reside. It opens up the launcher when you play a game from them or install a game through them. After it is done you can select an option for it to automatically close the launcher as well. Luckily you do not really realize the launcher has opened up since it is only open when you play the game.
GOG Galaxy 2.0 is trying to be your one stop shop. Though it has not gotten past the DRM of other platforms so it has to go through their launcher to play a game from them. This may seem like an unnecessary app then since you can just go through their launcher and cut out the middle man, but they offer many different benefits that should not be over looked.
The first benefit is having all of your gaming library under one roof. No more switching from launcher to launcher just to find that one game you thought was one place but turns out to be in another. With GOG Galaxy 2.0 you can look at every game you own in every online store and with a click be playing that game in no time. This is a time saver and very handy since you don’t have to jump from launcher to launcher just to play a different game.
With their system they also provide ease of use. Their system is streamlined and not as cumbersome as some game launchers are. You can find your games easier and not have to tackle with some of the abysmal game launchers other companies have produced.
They provide your updates for your games, as well, if you want to play a game it updates your game automatically before you play it and then you are off to the races. This comes in handy, but can also be a roadblock since if you were to open up the original launcher it would be automatically downloading the update before you were clicking to play the game. So this part is a double edged sword in many ways. Also if you are not consistently logging on to the original launcher some of your games you don’t play often could get very out of date and require a long time to update just to catch up.
The Genius Of This Move
This is a great strategy by GOG and not entirely consumer focused. You see they provide a great light weight program to combine all your gaming libraries under one app, their app. So in theory why would you ever need to log into Steam, Origin, Uplay, or Epic Games again. This means you are always in their ecosystem if they have a sale you see it. You don’t see if Origin is having a sale or if they are cheaper then GOG, you are more prone to buy from them.
That and loyalty, it is the same idea as free samples at the store you feel obliged to give them your business. They provided you with this great app out of the kindness of their heart. So you feel obliged to buy from them more.
Would I call this anti-consumer? No and here is why. You see they are doing nothing shady here they are providing you with a great way to combine all of your libraries under one app. It is your responsibility to shop around and get the best deal. It is not their fault if you want to impulse buy that game they are offering for 50% off or something like that. It is not the businesses responsibility to offer the cheapest price at all times compared to their competition.
It is also not anti-consumer that they offer a superior product to their competition, in fact, quite the opposite. It is through offering a better product that other companies will be forced to compete and work on their own app that beats this new model. If they lose enough money because people prefer GOG Galaxy over their troublesome launcher then that is on them for becoming complacent and not providing a good user experience.