Beta no more! Gaming desktop client GOG Galaxy is ready for prime time, and it’s adding all kinds of gamer features such as cloud saves, an in-game overlay, screenshots, and more to celebrate the milestone. Version 1.2 of GOG Galaxy is currently available to early access testers and will roll out to all users in April as it exits beta.
GOG Galaxy’s most notable new addition is its cloud save feature. This allows users to save game progress to the cloud for use across multiple PCs. Even better, it works with new games as well as older games that never had cloud save capabilities to begin with, including Planescape: Torment and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines. You can find a list of initial games that support cloud saves here. GOG Galaxy also offers the ability to download your cloud save data to keep a local copy of your game saves if you prefer.
Beyond cloud saves, the updated desktop client includes a new hibernate mode to reduce the client’s CPU usage during gameplay. Other assorted features include bandwidth limiting and scheduling, a frame rate counter, screenshot captures, a new in-game overlay, desktop and in-game notifications, and chat.
There’s also a customization option that lets advanced users choose the features they want to use.
The story behind the story: For the most part, the new features in GOG Galaxy are already in Valve’s Steam client—but that’s exactly the point. GOG Galaxy provides a viable alternative to Steam’s desktop client, built around GOG’s DRM-free principles. In fact, even using GOG Galaxy is completely optional for GOG customers. The Steam desktop client, by comparison, is required to run the vast majority of games purchased through Valve’s store.