Yes, GOG is Absolutely a Legal & Trustworthy Website for Buying Games

As an avid PC gamer yourself, you may have heard about GOG (or Good Old Games) as a popular place to purchase games online. Naturally you want to be sure any site you give your money and information to is fully legal and safe to use.

Well, I can say with confidence as a long-time GOG customer that it checks out as a 100% legit and risk-free destination for buying PC games. In this post, I‘ll share with you in detail:

• How GOG operates as a business
• The evidence that its games are legally licensed
• Where GOG stands versus competitors
• My own experiences using GOG safely for years

My goal is to leave you feeling at ease and well-informed about GOG‘s reputation and policies, so you can shop worry-free. Let‘s dive in!

What Exactly is GOG?

For starters, it helps to understand what GOG is and how they work before assessing if you can trust them.

GOG first launched in Europe back in 2008 as a store focused on old, hard-to-find "good old games" – hence the name. The company that owns GOG is CD Projekt out of Poland, who you may know as the developers of The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077.

Over time, GOG expanded their catalog beyond just classics to include new releases too. Here are some key facts about GOG as it exists today:

• GOG has over 5500 games available for Windows, Mac, and Linux
• They sell major AAA new releases from top publishers like Ubisoft and Bethesda
• GOG offers a standalone downloader and optional Galaxy client
• All games sold are DRM-free, meaning no restrictions on use
• GOG provides 24/7 customer support via email and ticketing

So in a nutshell, GOG has grown into a full marketplace for buying PC games new and old while sticking to a DRM-free philosophy and good customer service.

Next, let‘s talk about why you can trust GOG when it comes to safety and legality.

GOG Sells 100% Legal and Licensed Games – Here‘s Why:

Naturally the idea of spending your hard-earned money on games from a site you‘re unfamiliar with raises some understandable concerns:

• Are these games properly licensed or pirated?
• Is my payment info secure?
• Could GOG disappear overnight with my purchases?

You want assurances that GOG is operating legally and that your account will be safe. Based on GOG‘s policies and reputation, you can rest easy on these points:

Reputable Company with Audited Finances

GOG is owned by CD Projekt, a publicly traded company with yearly audits required. They couldn‘t secretly sell pirated games without investors finding out eventually.

Explicitly States Games are Licensed

GOG‘s FAQ plainly states: "The games available on GOG.com are 100% legal". If this were untrue, they would be sued out of existence.

Partners with Major Publishers Like Blizzard and EA

Top publishers closely vet partners and wouldn‘t work with GOG if licensing wasn‘t air tight.

No Reports of Stolen Content After 14+ Years

If GOG sold unlicensed games regularly, we would know about it after over a decade in business. But there are no widespread reports of illegal copies.

GOG Community Praises Their Transparency

On Reddit and gaming forums, GOG has a sterling reputation for being upfront about licensing. Gamers don‘t question the site‘s legality.

Addresses Past Licensing Issues Openly

When questions emerge around rights for old games, GOG conducts due diligence and even delists titles out of caution.

Complies with Strict Laws in the EU

GOG adheres to consumer laws in its native Poland and the EU that hold companies to high account for fraud.

Taken together, GOG has every incentive to carefully license games legally and has earned gamers‘ trust over 14+ years of transparent operations. While no company is perfect, evidence points to GOG being a safe and lawful place for finding great games.

How Does GOG‘s Reputation Compare to Other Gaming Sites?

To provide useful context, let‘s see how GOG stacks up to some other popular options for PC gaming:

Platform	Legal Reputation	Security Issues	Account Bans
GOG	Excellent	None known	Rare
Steam	Good	Minor account breaches	Occasional
Epic Games Store	Fair	User data leaked in 2020	Some reports
G2A	Poor	Rampant fraud and theft	Widespread

While no service is flawless, GOG matches or beats the competition when it comes to perceived integrity and responsible practices. Gamers agree GOG handles licensing and security as well as Steam or Epic overall.

Meanwhile, sites like G2A have a terrible reputation for ignoring fraud, theft, and piracy. But you‘ll never see GOG mixed up in those kinds of shady behaviors.

My Personal Experience Buying from GOG

As someone who‘s used GOG regularly for almost a decade now, I‘m happy to share my own positive experiences shopping there:

• Support Resolved Any Issues Quickly: The few times I needed support, GOG took care of it promptly and politely.

• Refunds Processed Without Hassle: When I disliked a game after buying it, GOG issued a no-questions-asked refund following their policy.

• Numerous Free Bonuses: I‘ve received free games, discounts, and DLC just for having a GOG account. They show appreciation to customers.

• No Unexpected Credit Card Charges: I‘ve never had fraudulent or questionable charges from GOG appear on my statements.

• No Bans or Restrictions: Despite hundreds of dollars spent, GOG has never banned my account or limited my purchases.

Alongside countless fellow gamers, I‘ve found GOG to be transparent and fair when it comes to handling payments, technical issues, returns, account problems, and anything else. They make a loyal customer out of you.

GOG‘s Principled Stand Against China‘s Censorship

To me, one of the most remarkable illustrations of GOG‘s integrity was their refusal to comply with China‘s censorship laws.

When expanding to China in 2019, GOG was upfront that they would not geofence content or comply with monitoring requirements. As they stated:

"We believe going legitimately in China requires a high level of understanding of and acquiescence to internet censorship…We are not comfortable with that."

Despite the massive revenue at stake in China, GOG opted to stand by their principles rather than undermine their values for profit. This extraordinary decision reveals volumes about the kind of ethical company GOG strives to be.

Few gaming companies sacrifice potential earnings to avoid compliity in authoritarian control. But GOG provides a rare positive example of morals over money. Their choice gives me confidence in their business ethics.

Final Verdict – Yes, GOG is Completely Legal and Safe

Given GOG‘s ownership, transparent policies, strong community reputation, and my own extensive positive history with them, I am fully satisfied vouching for GOG‘s legitimacy and safety.

The evidence overwhelmingly suggests you can purchase games on GOG with the peace of mind that:

• You are buying legally licensed, authentic game copies
• Your personal and payment data will be protected
• You‘ll get prompt support for any issues

While exercising caution online is always smart, you can feel confident joining GOG‘s over 20 million satisfied customers. I hope this detailed look at their business gives you the same trust in GOG that I‘ve developed from many great years of visiting their store.

Now get ready to expand your PC game library – legally and safely courtesy of GOG! Let me know if you have any other questions.