Within the marketplace of PC gaming, there are many things people value. Prices may drop and fluctuate from time to time, but it’s not everything. There are many other factors that affect the libraries of pc games. Copyright protection and other such DRM can often cripple a game’s performance. While Hitman Game of the Year Edition was released a week ago on GOG, it still has online DRM. Despite purporting no games with DRM, GOG does list it with warnings on its store page. Yet, players have reacted harshly to the always-online DRM of Hitman by ensuring it gets review bombed on GOG.
What Does Hitman Being Review Bombed on GOG Mean for Always-Online DRM?
The DRM doesn’t seem bad on paper, but when put into perspective it’s a huge part of the game. Without new weapons, missions, or spawn locations; Hitman GOTY will be extremely barren. While the outrage for a rerelease of a 2016 game in 2021 is interesting, it poses many questions about the future of the Hitman franchise. While the series continues in its online approach, IO Interactive has several key questions that need answering.
When it comes to the digital preservation of gaming, servers are most likely to go offline. While some of the Hitman GOG review bombing is being removed, the game is still sitting at a 1.4/5 star rating overall. Players with bad connections or none at all will lose access to content and progression that gets locked away by the always-online DRM. What happens when IO servers go dark for the original Hitman releases? It’s unfortunate to think that while these games will still be available to purchase, they might be completely devoid of content. GOG is still pushing back on negative reviews as the game stays in their library.
