Windows 11 finds "impressive ways" to break old games - GOG representative

Compatibility issues highlighted the importance of releasing DRM-free games.

GOG specialists explained why maintaining the functionality of classic games on modern PCs is becoming increasingly difficult. According to them, Windows 11 updates regularly change the operating system's familiar mechanisms – and sometimes find "impressive ways" to break projects released decades ago.

Michał Obuchowski, Technical Manager of GOG's publishing department, cited the new administrator account protection system as an example. Previously, Windows simply asked the user for permission to run a program with elevated privileges. Now, the system can create a separate temporary account for this, confirming the action via Windows Hello.

This doesn't pose a problem for modern applications, but old games are often structured differently. They may rely on direct access to system folders, the registry, or other Windows components. Due to the change in the familiar mechanism, a game may not install, not save settings, or refuse to launch altogether.

The problem is compounded by the fact that the GOG team learns about such changes only after preliminary Windows 11 builds are released. After that, specialists have to find the cause of the breakage and develop a separate solution for the affected games.

Another example was an error in DirectShow – an old Windows component that many classic projects use to play intros and cutscenes. In some Windows 11 builds, video began to display with severe distortions.

Outdated drivers and DRM systems create additional difficulties. Some of them are no longer supported by modern Windows, and removing such protection without the source code can be challenging. Therefore, GOG considers the release of DRM-free versions particularly important for preserving gaming heritage.