The concept of a digital storefront that only serves DRM-free titles isn’t as lucrative as one might think. That’s according to CD PROJEKT’s latest financials, which reveal that the company’s DRM-free storefront, GOG, is actually losing money. GOG suffered losses of more than $1 million for the recent quarter, as pointed out in a GamesIndustry.biz report.
From GamesIndustry.biz:
[…] Despite the addition during the quarter of older Star Trek games, Myst, and new titles like Psychonauts 2, GOG only saw revenues inch upward 3% to PLN 41.8 million ($10.1 million).
At the same time, GOG posted a segment net loss of PLN 4.75 million ($1.14 million) compared to the 130,000 PLN ($31,000) it realized in the year-ago quarter.
Year-to-date, GOG has posted net losses of 9.21 million PLN ($2.21 million) compared to a cumulative 5.7 million PLN ($1.37 million) gain through the first three quarters of last year.
CD PROJEKT CFO Piotr Nielubowicz told investors during an earnings call that GOG has become a “challenge” for the company. One of its solutions for improving the platform seems to be a more diligent selection of titles.
“Regarding GOG, its performance does present a challenge, and recently we’ve taken measures to improve its financial standing,” Nielubowicz said. “First and foremost, we’ve decided that GOG should focus more on its core business activity, which means offering a handpicked selection of games with its unique DRM-free philosophy. In line with this approach, there will be changes in the team structure.”
Source: CD PROJEKT (via GamesIndustry.biz)