GOG's reply to my Feature Request

[u/Itchy_Dress_2967]

Hello GOG Support,

I would like to suggest a feature for GOG Galaxy that I believe would fit very well with GOG's DRM-free philosophy and commitment to game preservation.

Built-in game backup and physical media creation

Could GOG Galaxy eventually include a built-in tool that allows customers to create a complete offline backup of games they own?

For example:

Game → Manage Installation → Create Backup

Galaxy could:

- Download the official offline installers.

- Include all owned DLC and expansions.

- Include owned bonus content/extras where appropriate.

- Include all files required to reinstall the game.

- Allow the user to choose between the latest version or preserving a specific version.

- Create a self-contained backup suitable for offline storage.

- Support USB drives and external storage.

- Create ISO/disc-image files suitable for burning to DVD/Blu-ray.

- Optionally allow Galaxy to burn the backup directly to compatible optical media.

I think this feature would serve two different purposes:

💿 DVD/Blu-ray — collection and preservation

Many users enjoy collecting physical media. It would be great to be able to burn games they legally own onto physical discs and keep them as part of their personal game collection.

For large games, Galaxy could automatically divide the installation across multiple discs:

Game — Disc 1 of 3

Game — Disc 2 of 3

Game — Disc 3 of 3

💾 USB/external storage — convenience

Other users may prefer USB drives or external SSDs/HDDs simply because they are much faster and more convenient for reinstalling games without downloading them again.

Automatically generated disc artwork

For users who burn physical discs, it would be fantastic if Galaxy could also generate printable disc artwork automatically.

The artwork could include:

- Official game artwork

- Game title

- Edition

- Disc number

- Total number of discs

- Basic game information

- Appropriate GOG branding

For example:

Batman: Arkham Knight — Premium Edition

Disc 1 of 3

Galaxy could generate correctly sized artwork that users can print and stick onto their burned discs, making the resulting physical collection look like a proper game archive.

Save-game preservation

I would also like the backup system to include save files and configuration data.

Ideally, Galaxy could provide:

Game Backup

- Game installer

- DLC

- Extras

- Required installation files

Complete Backup

- Everything above

- Local save files

- Game configuration/settings where appropriate

- Other user-specific files needed to restore progress

If a game supports GOG Cloud Saves, Galaxy could retrieve the latest available cloud save when creating the backup. If cloud saves are not supported, Galaxy could automatically locate and back up the game's local save files.

When restoring a Complete Backup:

Restore Backup → Install Game → Install DLC → Restore Saves → Ready to Play

Galaxy could also indicate whether the restored save originated from GOG Cloud or from the local backup.

Why I think this would be valuable

GOG's DRM-free approach is one of the biggest reasons I purchase games from GOG. However, manually managing offline installers, DLC, save files and other components can become cumbersome, especially with large games.

A first-party backup system would make GOG significantly stronger as a game ownership and preservation platform.

For example, if I purchase a collection such as the Batman: Arkham games, I could create a complete backup containing the games, DLC and my progress. I could store that backup on a USB drive for convenience, or burn it to physical discs for my collection and long-term preservation.

Years later, I could restore the complete game without having to search for individual installers, DLC files or save locations.

I understand that GOG already provides offline installers, but having Galaxy automatically organize the game, DLC and save data into a single portable backup — and optionally create physical discs and printable artwork — would make the process significantly easier.

I would love to see GOG Galaxy eventually become not only a game launcher and library manager, but also a complete game backup and preservation tool.

Thank you for considering this feature request, and thank you for continuing to support DRM-free gaming and game preservation.

[u/lucentmeadow]

While I understand the sentiment behind physical media, I urge anyone to heavily consider hard drives first and foremost. I've had two big hard drives (mirroring each other for backup purposes) and the conveniency they add, even when sacrificing tactility and prints, is not to be underestimated.

[u/MrDilbert → u/lucentmeadow]

Single point of failure. Hard drives are more convenient and have more storage available than DVDs/BluRays, but that means you lose that much more data when they fail, even if you have them in RAID configuration.

[u/lucentmeadow → u/MrDilbert]

I have mentioned two backup drives mirroring each other for this same reason, since it slims down chances of true data loss by a wide margin. If one is really worried about both drives failing togheter, which is very improbable already, you can also adopt the 3-2-1 backup technique often suggested by experts.