Just a few weeks later, a spokesperson announced in the GOG forums that the company has removed the title from the storefront. GOG users expressed their frustration, in the usual internet fashion, on the forums and by review bombing the title. The fact that some features were locked behind an online requirement, but the game was advertised as playable without an internet connection, was broadly seen as deceitful by the community.
GOG's anti-DRM policy likely also fueled the backlash, as the popular storefront is more or less the one major place to buy PC games without DRM requirements. The game required an internet connection to play features like Escalation missions and User Created Contracts, thereby rendering non-essential but beloved elements of the game unplayable without a connection. After the surprise release of Hitman: Game of the Year edition on Good Old Games, there was instant backlash as players discovered anti-piracy DRM.
