GOG may bring back physical PC game distribution to give tangible proof of ownership to those who only use digital distribution. Physical distribution is filling an increasing need for collectible physical goods and a trade-in market in an era of download links. If you are someone who still appreciates physical media or desires the opportunity to trade-in your games, there may be a way to obtain them directly from the platform.
GOG considers USB drives or Switch-style cartridges for physical PC game distribution
GOG is having conversations with game publishers about bringing boxed/packaged distribution back to PC software. GOG business development manager Marcin Paczynski described his vision for the process as giving users access to a digital shelf and the ability to request physical product delivery. It would be similar to the way that retail works but GOG would have to deal with the inventory and shipping logistics that the company has never had to deal with before.
What physical distribution would look like to support modern PC games with no optical drive support will have to be figured out. Possible options could be USB drives, SD card, or maybe Switch style cartridges so it can match up to current hardware needs. GOG will need to work with publishers on extra approvals for game titles before they can offer physical products to be sold.
In addition to normal copies of games, they will also want to provide exclusive bonuses for physical sales and allow for a used game market. There are still logistical issues to work through and some legal approvals to go through as well. "Ideally, my dream would be to be able to buy physical versions of those games on GOG. You go to your shelf on GOG, you click on the game that you would like to receive a physical copy of, you order it, and it gets to you. That would be a perfect scenario," Paczynski said.
No physical format is decided at this time. There are no solid launch dates yet either. It's all in the exploratory stages of figuring it all out while dealing with the publisher discussions and supply chain planning.
If GOG handles the logistics for the first time, how will they manage inventory for limited run physical bonuses? I have not seen them deal with shipping before.
They would likely partner with a third party distributor for fulfillment. This mirrors standard retail models where the publisher or platform handles the initial stock while a logistics partner ships it to the end user.
finally tangible ownership is back 😅