Honestly, yes, that always was and is a form of DRM because GOG locks their games behind an account that you have to create and log into in order to download them. That being said, that's where the comparison begins and ends. Web browsers come pre-installed with literally every single OS on the market (Even an obscure one like
AROS comes bundles with
Odyssey). So, first and foremost, you're not required to install anything (
Except the game, of course Actually, you don't even need to install the game. You can just have the installation package sitting on your hard drive for years and still access it whenever you want). And, what sets it heads and shoulders above Steam is that you can be completely anonymous for the entire affaire. You can make an account with a throw-away email, buy the games with a pre-paid credit card, access the site and download all your games with Tor, and then turn off your computer's internet and install the games.
Meanwhile, what do you have to do with Steam? Make an account on Valve's site (No difference there), buy the games with a [pre-paid] card (No difference again), then download Valve's approved software, activate Valve's approved software on my computer by downloading Valve's approved software on my phone and activate Valve's approved software on my phone by verifying my email account, downloading and install the games through Valve's approved software, then remove any and
ALL traces of Valve's approved software on my computer and my phone, and pray that the game still works (On top of the fact that you must have
all your games downloaded and installed just in case anything happens to Valve and their server goes down). How, in any way, does this sound ideal for the customer (Not to mention that other companies do this exact same process almost to the letter)?