Comment by Delk

> Im pretty sure I read in the past GoG still sells you a license to a game in perpetuity, rather than ownership

Just about every commercial software license says the software is licensed, not sold.

Of course the practical difference is in whether you can trust you'll be able to keep using the product indefinitely or have to rely on the publisher's goodwill.

(Also, whether the idea that a software product is only licensed and not sold is legally valid of course depends on the jurisdiction and legal interpretation. IIRC back in the day some people tried to argue that you couldn't resell a game or other piece of software you bought on physical media because the software was only licensed to you, not sold. That argument didn't necessarily fly.)