GOG vs Steam
GOG is a European alternative to Steam: same content & media use case, headquartered in Poland and operating under GDPR by default, while Steam is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Digital game distribution platform offering carefully selected PC games without DRM restrictions. Features classic titles, new releases, optional client, and 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- GDPR by default
- Yes
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- No
A curated collection of the best European alternatives to Steam.
- Jurisdiction
- US
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
GOG vs Steam at a glance
| GOG | Steam | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Poland | US |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | US law applies |
| GDPR by default | Yes | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | — |
| Free tier | No | — |
| Best for | Teams that need content & media with EU data residency | Teams already invested in the Steam ecosystem |
Choose GOG if…
- You want your data to stay under EU law without extra legal paperwork
- GDPR compliance or public-sector requirements apply to you
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Steam if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Steam ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
Why choose GOG over Steam?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Steam is headquartered in US, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
GOG removes that overhead. As a Poland-based provider, it operates natively under GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single non-EU jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.