GOG’s preservation team says Windows 11 changes are creating fresh compatibility work for classic PC games, with recent DirectShow regressions reportedly breaking in-game video playback and forthcoming elevation changes complicating software that expects older UAC behavior.
Speaking to RPG Site, GOG publishing technical manager Michał Obuchowski described the problem as the cost of maintaining games built against decades of Windows assumptions. GamesRadar highlighted the interview on July 16, but the underlying comments come from RPG Site’s wider discussion with GOG about its preservation program.
Obuchowski cited a regression in newer Windows 11 builds affecting DirectShow, the legacy multimedia framework used by many older games for cutscenes and other video. He also pointed to aging drivers, deprecated DirectPlay components, and old copy-protection systems as recurring obstacles. In some cases, a title may need compatibility shims, replacement DLLs, patched video handling, or removal of obsolete DRM simply to launch reliably on a current PC.
The more immediate issue for developers is Microsoft’s Administrator Protection feature. Microsoft documents it as a Windows 11 preview security model that keeps administrators running with a deprivileged token, then creates a separate, short-lived elevated context after the user approves an action with Windows Hello.
That is a sensible hardening move: it reduces the standing administrative privileges available to malware and prevents older assumptions about always-available elevation. It also changes the environment seen by software that requests elevation, including installers, launchers, updaters and games with poorly separated user and administrator data.
Microsoft’s own documentation acknowledges that some applications will need updates under Administrator Protection. It specifically warns that elevated applications do not share the normal user profile, single sign-on credentials, network-drive access or per-user application settings in the usual way. For a modern, supported application, that is an engineering task. For a game released in the late 1990s whose original developer may no longer exist, it becomes preservation work.
The comments do not mean Windows 11 is broadly breaking classic games, nor do they identify the specific titles affected by the reported DirectShow issue. They do underline a less visible reality of PC game preservation: compatibility is not a one-time patch. Every Windows servicing change, security redesign or retirement of a legacy subsystem can expose another dependency that old software assumed would remain indefinitely.
For players, the practical advice is simple: use current GOG builds where available, keep a known-working installer for owned classics, and expect some older games to need updates after major Windows changes.
Speaking to RPG Site, GOG publishing technical manager Michał Obuchowski described the problem as the cost of maintaining games built against decades of Windows assumptions. GamesRadar highlighted the interview on July 16, but the underlying comments come from RPG Site’s wider discussion with GOG about its preservation program.
Obuchowski cited a regression in newer Windows 11 builds affecting DirectShow, the legacy multimedia framework used by many older games for cutscenes and other video. He also pointed to aging drivers, deprecated DirectPlay components, and old copy-protection systems as recurring obstacles. In some cases, a title may need compatibility shims, replacement DLLs, patched video handling, or removal of obsolete DRM simply to launch reliably on a current PC.
Security changes add another moving part
The more immediate issue for developers is Microsoft’s Administrator Protection feature. Microsoft documents it as a Windows 11 preview security model that keeps administrators running with a deprivileged token, then creates a separate, short-lived elevated context after the user approves an action with Windows Hello.That is a sensible hardening move: it reduces the standing administrative privileges available to malware and prevents older assumptions about always-available elevation. It also changes the environment seen by software that requests elevation, including installers, launchers, updaters and games with poorly separated user and administrator data.
Microsoft’s own documentation acknowledges that some applications will need updates under Administrator Protection. It specifically warns that elevated applications do not share the normal user profile, single sign-on credentials, network-drive access or per-user application settings in the usual way. For a modern, supported application, that is an engineering task. For a game released in the late 1990s whose original developer may no longer exist, it becomes preservation work.
Why GOG cares
GOG’s Preservation Program, launched in November 2024, is built around keeping selected older titles working on modern Windows systems after their original publishers or developers stop maintaining them. The company’s approach often includes compatibility fixes and ongoing testing rather than merely selling an unchanged archive of old installation files.The comments do not mean Windows 11 is broadly breaking classic games, nor do they identify the specific titles affected by the reported DirectShow issue. They do underline a less visible reality of PC game preservation: compatibility is not a one-time patch. Every Windows servicing change, security redesign or retirement of a legacy subsystem can expose another dependency that old software assumed would remain indefinitely.
For players, the practical advice is simple: use current GOG builds where available, keep a known-working installer for owned classics, and expect some older games to need updates after major Windows changes.
References
- Primary source: gamesradar.com
Published: 2026-07-16T16:11:40+00:00
GOG veterans thank Microsoft and Windows 11 for finding "spectacular ways" to break classic games they're trying to preserve | GamesRadar+
I mean, it is kind of impressive at timeswww.gamesradar.com - Official source: learn.microsoft.com
Administrator protection | Microsoft Learn
Learn how Administrator protection protects users with just-in-time administrator privileges and helps prevent unauthorized system changes.learn.microsoft.com - Official source: microsoft.com
New Windows 11 features strengthen security to address evolving cyberthreat landscape | Microsoft Security Blog
Read about the new class of Windows computers, alongside important new features and updates that make Windows 11 more secure.www.microsoft.com - Official source: support.microsoft.com
Enhanced Sign-in Security in Windows | Microsoft Support
Learn about Enhanced Sign in Security (ESS) and how to configure it.support.microsoft.com - Official source: techcommunity.microsoft.com
- Official source: cdn-dynmedia-1.microsoft.com
