Well technically and legally you always buy a license even with a game on physical media.

Not a valve fan but they don’t shut down their online services since they let people run servers. TF2.and CSGO are good examples. Hell, you can even use all the skins for free on private servers.

Any media you buy is a license because you’re only buying a copy, not the original.

Watch this by the guy who started Stop Killing Games. Then you can stop parroting the corporate wet dream that we don’t own stuff we buy.

Well in this aspect gog is the best

that’s because it’s a company that’s mostly liked by people on lemmy (and presumably op), meanwhile those on their post are mostly hated. this post is just a way for people here to feel good about themselves for not buying the games they already didn’t care about by pretending it’s activism, but don’t you dare point out the shitty practices of the companies they like!!!

basically the entire video games industry* is based around the idea that you don’t own your games. this is obviously awful and needs to change, but i’m sorry, “just boycott the bad guys!!” won’t work when the bad guys is everyone, so to boycott them essentially means to stop engaging with gaming entirely. there’s a reason Stop Killing Games didn’t do a boycott, they did a campaign to get laws passed.

* except gog i guess, but they seem to like sending neonazi symbols to people’s inboxes so. pick your poison.

They claim to sell a license, but that’s a lie.