CD Projekt Red has sold GOG (Good Old Games) to its co-founder, Michał Kiciński, a move that could finally let the store return to its roots. As reported, Kiciński paid $25.26 million for the platform.
At first glance, that figure might look small for a storefront as well-known as GOG, but the sale fits neatly into CD Projekt Red’s wider strategy. The studio appears keen to drop anything that pulls focus away from its core strength: AAA game development. Offloading a complex global store gives the company immediate liquidity, which will likely go towards the next Witcher saga and the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel.
This direction lines up with CDPR’s recent shift away from its in-house REDengine to Unreal Engine 5. It shows a clear intent to stop spending time and resources on maintaining large-scale tech or services, and instead focus fully on making games.
GOG returning to its consumer-first roots
For GOG, the change could be even more important. Being owned by a large publicly traded company meant constant pressure to be profitable. Under Kiciński’s ownership, GOG is positioning itself as an indie platform again, with its biggest strength still being its DRM-free approach. At a time when digital ownership is being questioned more than ever, betting on a pro-consumer philosophy feels more relevant now than it has in years.
Big sellers like The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 remain available on the store, and offline installers are still there for players who want to avoid the always-online direction modern gaming is taking. The game preservation programme is also staying in place, with funding safe from the owner, which is a strong move for maintaining trust.
Overall, this looks like a win-win. CD Projekt Red can fully commit to storytelling and game development, while GOG escapes corporate pressure and gets a real chance to return to being a consumer-first storefront.
Whether it succeeds in the long term now depends on Kiciński and whether he can grow the platform without the financial safety net that CDPR once provided.
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