Good Old Games to Relaunch on September 23rd

Nothing like crying wolf to get a little extra exposure for your business, eh? Tonight we received an official press release heralding the return of CD Projekt’s Good Old Games service, along with a firm timeframe for the release of Baldur’s Gate and Tales of the Sword Coast. Notice the mention of “other classic Hasbro-licensed PC games”, which no doubt refers to the rest of the Infinity Engine series and/or other Dungeons & Dragons titles:

GOG.com Officially Launches, Revives Baldur’s Gate and other Classic Hasbro-Licensed PC Games

The definitive resource for DRM-free classic PC games leaves beta with a new site, new features and some of the best games of all time from Hasbro and Atari.

Warsaw, Poland September 23, 2010. GOG.com celebrates its second anniversary with one of the biggest announcements ever for fans of classic PC games. After reviving and releasing more than 230 classic PC games and attracting hundreds of thousands of satisfied customers, the DRM-free platform leaves behind its (Beta) status and has officially gone live. GOG is commemorating the milestone with a new site, brand new features and the massive announcement of a deal with Hasbro to breathe new life into some of the most desired titles in PC gaming history, including BioWare’s role-playing opus, Baldur’s Gate: The Original Saga. The titles from Hasbro will be unveiled gradually in the coming weeks, and today’s announcement is just a small taste of what’s to come.

Available now for $9.99, Baldur’s Gate: The Original Saga (Role-Playing Game, 2000) is the first part of one of the most important franchises from the RPG masters at BioWare and features the core game, as well as the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion. Utilizing the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) ruleset, the game was deemed an instant classic upon release and praised by many as a revival of computer role-playing. Baldur’s Gate, set in the Dungeons & Dragons setting of Forgotten Realms, gives players the best from the RPG genre and provides countless hours of great, classic gameplay.

Leaving beta means lots of changes to the site itself, as well. A sleek new design makes it even easier to browse through the huge catalogue, share one’s passion for classic games via popular social media, get to know more about the classic games available and recommend favorite titles to other gamers. Among other changes, the team has introduced GOGmixes, which are, in short, user-created lists of games around one theme.

(We’ve decided to celebrate our second anniversary in typical GOG fashion: big, loud and with style. Announcing the agreement with Hasbro and launching the new site was a perfect way to finally leave the beta stage,) said Guillaume Rambourg, Managing Director at GOG.com. (We’re very excited to see users’ reactions to the new features and we’re exceptionally excited to see how they like the Hasbro deal and the incredible games we’re releasing in the coming weeks. It’s worth waiting for every new release.”

The new GOG.com with Baldur’s Gate in store, will launch on Thursday, September 23 at 8 a.m. EDT (2 p.m. CET).

Check out the GOG.com Revival videos in 4 chapters to learn more about the new GOG.com, explanation of the recent events, announcement of Hasbro games and the summary of service’s two years.

About GOG.com
GOG.com or Good Old Games is the ultimate destination for classic PC games. Leading the DRM-free digital-distribution revolution, the site offers more than 230 of the greatest PC games of all time at low prices and free from intrusive copy protection. GOG.com is much more than just another digital distribution site, featuring an extensive community component that allows players to rate, review and discuss their favorite PC games. Visit GOG.com and start your journey to the past.