The first major redesign occurred in May 2009[17] when they adopted a design that Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Alec Meer described as "GoG-esque" and "shiny".
[18] The second redesign occurred in July 2011[19] and was interpreted by some as a response to changes in the industry including the launch of Origin and the acquisitions of Direct2Drive by GameFly and Impulse by GameStop.
[21][22] In December 2008, GamersGate began offering developers MicroSuite, a free in-game downloadable-content API that allows game companies to insert DLC microtransactions into gameplay.
[26] CEO Theo Bergquist has touted the client-less feature of GamersGate as a way to distinguish it from more dominant video game distribution platforms like Valve's Steam.
Although the potential for video game piracy and similar abuses are present through its method, GamersGate believes that trust in consumers acts as "a source of comfort" for its customers.
[2] In an article for Information & Communications Technology Law, Peter Holm suggests that perhaps GamersGate's best DRM-free defense against piracy is simply that it makes the legal purchase of games easy and cheap.
New Tang Dynasty Television drew attention to GamersGate's charts in 2014, when the free-to-play co-op game Warframe ranked alongside Castle of Illusion.
[64][63] GamersGate CEO Theo Bergquist stated that the company's long-term goal was to offer as many of its 3000 games as possible under the FreeGames program.
[11] Bergquist's claims that this was the first program of its kind[65] were refuted by Shacknews' Alice O'Conner, who pointed to a similar failed experiment by Ubisoft in 2007.
Like FreeGames, the service allowed customers with an account to download certain games for free in exchange for watching a few short advertisements.
[68] As one of the earliest digital distribution services, GamersGate saw rapid expansion in its earlier years with over 100 percent in growth from launch through 2009.
[71] The total market share of digital downloads going to GamersGate, however, is considerably smaller than its major competitor, Steam.
"[75] A July 2010 study conducted by NPD Group failed to list GamersGate among the top 5 digital distribution companies.
[16][76] Launched on the World Wide Web from Stockholm, Sweden in 2006,[1] GamersGate has expanded internationally both online and offline.
[80][81] GamersGate has been in active competition with digital distributors including Steam, Impulse, Direct2Drive, and to a lesser extent OnLive, and Origin.
As early as 2009, GamersGate criticized Impulse owner Stardock's analysis of its share of the digital download market as misleadingly self-aggrandizing.
A series of back and forth comments between the companies prompted Kotaku's Luke Plunkett to describe GamersGate, Impulse, and Direct2Drive as "guys jostling over the last spot on the podium".
GamersGate's Theo Bergquist questioned the wisdom of the purchase, describing Impulse as Steam's "lesser talented stepchild"[89] and summarizing GameStop's press release as "we will do whatever we can to not be the next Blockbuster".