GOG signs Activision catalogue

By Robert Purchese Published 28 January, 2010

Arcanum and Gabriel Knight out now.

Retro digital distributor Good Old Games (GOG.com) has announced that games by Activision will soon line its virtual shelves.

The entire catalogue will be unveiled gradually, but available right now are Troika's Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura (2001) and Jane Jensen's seminal Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993). These are from Sierra's catalogue - the Vivendi part of Activision Blizzard that you can't see in the company's title.

Arcanum, a role-playing game, mixed typical fantasy with industrial revolution and produced fondly remembered results. There were plenty of bugs, though - a common problem with Troika's games.

Stride back nearly 10 years to a much-changed Eurogamer for our first and second previews of Arcanum. Woo! Can't find a review, though.

Gabriel Knight is an adventure game about an author and bookshop owner who becomes a modern day inquisitor and roots our some murderous evil. Jane Jensen, the main creative force behind the game, is currently working on PC adventure Gray Matter, which will be released in March.

Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magic Obscura and Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers cost $5.99 each.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (11) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Hantheman #1 2 years ago

    Arcanum! If you let it, it will overtake your life. A wonderfully engrossing steamdriven fallout style RPG.

  • Oh-Bollox #2 2 years ago

    The Gabe Knights are all quality. Admittedly, his name sounds like a cross between a gigolo and a rent boy, but never mind.

  • OnlyMe #3 2 years ago

    Especially when you shorten in Gabe :p

    Wonderful addition, I'm curious to which game they've been allowed to release though. And Activision doing something good is a nice breath of fresh air. I hope they're adding all the Sierra collection, namely Quest for Glory, LSL, Police Quest, Space Quest, King's Quest, and maybe games like Torin's Passage. Wonder if they'll add full collections or individual games though. I don't think they can get away with having just the original Larry or Police Quest for $5.99.

    Just bought GK and Arcanum. Played through GK once a long time ago, but never played Arcanum. A couple of weeks ago, I also bought all of the Tex Murphy games.

  • groovychainsaw #4 2 years ago

    Didn't they patch all the bugs (or most of them out) with a community patch? Like Vampire:TMB? Anyway, always wanted to play Arcanum. Purchased!

  • hiddenranbir #5 2 years ago

    Arcanum. Steampunk at its finest.

    Half ogre butlers. Orcs in top hats. Elephant guns. We need more steampunk fantasy.


    I was hoping for EA, their back catalogue would seem more of a coup.
    Edited by hiddenranbir at 28/01/10 @ 12:01

  • actionfitz #6 2 years ago

    "Retro digital distributor Good Old Games (GOG.com) has announced that games by Activision will soon line its virtual shelves."

    your's for the special low price of Eleventy Billion dollars!!
    hey, Mr Kotick needs to keep his Scrooge McDuck style money bin full :)
    --
    -6 seriously? for a token Kotick bashing?
    sensitive pricks.
    Edited by actionfitz at 29/01/10 @ 10:21

  • growleroo #7 2 years ago

    Arcanum! What a treasure. That takes me back. Fitting a top hat with a magnetic coil so it repels bullets? Yes please! Don't care if my decrepit PC can't run it, I'm snaffling that bad boy. :D

  • kingdumpalot #8 2 years ago

    I'm looking forward to the likes of battlezone and maybe, just maybe, warcraft 1&2 and Diablo.

  • the_mtfr #9 2 years ago

    As with every acquisition, you have to consider where your money is going.

    I have and, considering Troika are disbanded and not a single penny is going to them, there's no logic in giving money to Activision so that I can play an old Troika game. Activision hasn't even spent money when the game came out, it was released by Vivendi's Sierra label. I guess Activision eventually realized it has rights to sell Arcanum after the whole Vivendi and Blizzard deal.

    Makes sense?
    Edited by the_mtfr at 28/01/10 @ 20:07

  • Kostabi #10 2 years ago

    Sins of Our Fathers is my favourite point and click game of all time. Everyone should play it at least once.

  • immateriaux #11 2 years ago

    GOG really are great