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Too bad, I use Steam and it works wonderfully on Linux, but i don’t want it to be the only option.

GOG is the only big option if you want to own the games you purchase.

That’s not how copyright laws work anywhere. You don’t own anything, it’s just a license.

In case of Steam.

With GOG I get an actual license key & terms that state my ownership.

No you don’t. You get the same license as you do on Steam, here’s the license btw …gog.com/…/16034990432541-GOG-User-Agreement-effe… :

We give you and other GOG users the personal right (known legally as a ‘license’) to use GOG services and to download, access and/or stream (depending on the content) and use GOG content. This license is for your personal use. We can stop or suspend this license in some situations, which are explained later on.

Which is very similar to Steam. In both cases you can keep the files you’ve downloaded on your machine, and on most cases you can copy those files to a different machine and keep playing it. GOG has better marketing on this regard, but they’re both very similar, neither enforces DRM nor forbids it entirely, although GOG does tend to be a bit stricter (but they still allow it) whereas steam is a bit looser but knowingly implemented a weak DRM and let’s you know in the game page if the game has any stronger form of DRM.

Yup, GOG just has good marketing department and lots of people fall for the DRM-free (but not really) games you own (but not really) campaign.

@Nibodhika @dbat Steam did the exact same thing when it was new when they would say "If Steam ever shuts down, we'll give you perpetual licenses to the games in your game library." Probably around the same time in their existence as GOG hyping DRM-free.