GOG Wants to Bring Back Boxed PC Games, but Says It Is Harder Than It Looks
GOG, the PC games store that sells games without copy protection, would like to sell physical boxed copies of PC games again. Its own partnerships chief says the plan is not simple.
Marcin Paczynski, GOG's senior business development and partnerships manager, discussed the idea in an interview with GamesRadar, published on 31 October 2026. He described a dream setup. A player would click a game on their GOG library shelf, order a physical copy and have it delivered to their home.
He was also clear about the difficulties. Selling physical goods is a logistical challenge compared with running a digital storefront, he said. It means organising storage and delivery, and it needs extra approval from the publishers who own the games. GameSpot and Neowin both reported his comments on 3 November 2026.
The timing matters for players who still like a game on a shelf. Sony is set to end physical disc production for new PlayStation games in 2028, according to a GamesRadar report published on 8 September 2026. Physical copies are becoming harder to find across platforms, and digital-only purchases are the norm for many new releases.
GOG is already working on a version of the box for classic games. Its Preservation Program made high-resolution scans of five older titles: Myst, Descent, Hitman: Codename 47, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Armikrog. The scans cover the front, back and spine of real boxes. The team then turned them into 3D models that can be viewed on a PC, along with printable files for papercraft projects.
Buyers can download the 3D box models after purchase. They open in the 3D viewer built into Windows and Mac, so no extra software or plugins are needed.
GOG also worked with Benjamin Wimmer, who created the Big Box Collection. That is a fan-made website for viewing 3D models of big-box PC games in a browser. Wimmer has been turning real game boxes into 3D scans since 2015, as a one-person passion project. Together, GOG and Wimmer offer flat, printable box art. Fans can cut, fold and glue it into a physical big box at home.
What the team has not announced is a date or a price for a boxed range. Paczynski's comments describe a goal and the obstacles in its way. GOG's catalogue of DRM-free installers, the files that let players install and keep games without a login, remains the store's main offer for now.
