The Witcher Developer CD Projekt has confirmed it has sold PC games marketplace GOG back to co-founder Michal Kicinski, parting ways with the DRM-free storefront. Since the store was first established by the Polish game developer in 2008, the marketplace has become a popular place for gamers to download DRM-free versions of a variety of popular games. GOG has continued to grow in the nearly two decades since its formation, with popular games such as Baldur's Gate 3the Tomb Raider titles and much more without any DRM restrictions.
GOG's recent efforts have placed a heavy emphasis on game preservation, and the company has made progress toward maintaining older games. GOG launched the GOG Preservation Program in late 2024 as a new initiative aimed at restoring older games and making them playable on modern hardware. The GOG Preservation Program has its hands in a plethora of re-releases of beloved older video games, including the original trilogy of Resident Evil games and Alpha protocolalong with a host of other titles. Now CD Projekt is officially parting ways with GOG, selling the platform to one of the people who helped establish the marketplace.
5 years ago, CD Projekt Red fumbled the bag and one of gaming's greatest comeback stories began
It's been five years since CD Projekt Red made history with the disastrous launch of Cyberpunk 2077, followed by the biggest comeback of all time.
CD Projekt is selling GOG back to its original founder
CD Projekt officially confirmed that they have sold GOG back to original co-founder Michal Kicinski for approximately $25.2 million. CD Projekt cited its desire to refocus the company's efforts on video game development in its official press release, placing its “full attention on creating RPGs of the highest quality.” GOG will continue to operate independently under Kicinski after the sale, with a deal already in place with the Polish developer to bring future CD Projekt games to market. Kicinski praised CD Projekt and fellow GOG co-founder Marcin Iwinski in his official statement, feeling that both parties share GOG's vision that games truly “belong” to the players who buy them.
CD Projekt CEO Michael Nowakowski had equal praise for the GOG co-founder in his statement. Nowakowski thanked members of GOG's staff for their “years of collaboration” with CD Projekt on managing the platform in collaboration with the Polish studio. Nowakowski also highlighted the change in hands as a “look around” for fans, confirming CD Projekt's intention to bring all of its new games to GOG, including those in development The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2. GOG management also assured fans that the change in hands is not due to financial difficulties, as the platform sees an “encouraging year” in 2025.
CD Projekt has big game projects in the works
The sale of GOG will allow CD Projekt to put all of the studio's efforts into its exciting new projects. The developer gave fans a first look at The Witcher 4 with a cinematic trailer at the 2024 Game Awards, where the franchise shifted its focus to Ciri, Geralt's adopted daughter. CD Projekt has teased a greater focus on narrative choices within the next Witcher game, meant to be the first entry in a new trilogy of games centered around Ciri. CD Projekt is also working on a new multiplayer game set in the universe of The Witcheris said to be a multiplayer game.
CD Projekt's most iconic franchise has expanded far beyond its new roots in recent years. The success of The Witchers novels and video games spawned a popular live-action series on Netflix, with The Witchers fourth season premieres in October 2025. The franchise has also had plenty of spinoffs, spawning everything from a board game and a tabletop RPG to a separate video game based on The Witcher's Gwent card game. CD Projekt also revealed a remake of the original Witcher game, which will be developed by fellow Polish game studio Fool's Theory. CD Projekt moving on from GOG will allow the company to redouble its efforts on its games, while returning the marketplace to one of its original founders.
Source: GOG, IGN
