Don't Count On Any EA Frostbite Powered Games On Linux

We will never see EA on Linux because EA have had tea and biscuits with Microsoft for decades. Not going to happen, they may as well be a part of Microsoft. Facts right there

Contrary to what you seem to think/imply, there is no (anti-Linux) conspiracy.

EA has had relationships with both Sony and Microsoft for years. Those are the big console players (PlayStation and Xbox, respectively). On the desktop it's just Microsoft. Mr. Andersson points to the "Steam Hardware & Software Survey" for a reason, and he even spells it out: Linux users represent less than 1% of all Steam users. EA is company. It wants to make money; that's why it collaborates with Microsoft. If Linux had, say, a 10% market share, EA would look at Linux differently.

Microsoft Studios, the video game production wing for Microsoft, published for Linux (Mark of the Ninja, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet). Electronic Arts has published for OS X (DeathSpank). Companies want money. Companies will include Linux as a target where it makes sense. Microsoft is one of the major contributors to the Linux kernel, for example. It made available PowerShell DSC for Linux, Visual Studio Code for Linux, open sourced (parts of) .NET and took it cross-platform, Microsoft Visual Studio 2015 supports targeting Linux, and so on.

As Mr. Andersson writes, if they currently don't support OS X, then why would they start looking at an even smaller audience. He did not make that up. The (secret) truth is not that Microsoft is steering EA in a certain direction. There is no conspiracy. You cannot look into the future. You don't know if we will "never see EA on Linux".

Oh, I'm so sick of this "I've never taken the survey" bull. Even if you all took it it would increase the Linux percent from 0.9 to 1.5% if we're generous.

You're sure about that? Because I'm not. It seems to me, based on my experience and large number of similiar experiences, that Windows is being over-represented to a significant degree for whatever reason. Of course the only way we'll know for sure is if Valve releases their comprehensive internal numbers, but the chances of them doing that are slim to none.

[quote=EndeavourAccuracy]

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Mr. Andersson points to the "Steam Hardware & Software Survey" for a reason, and he even spells it out: Linux users represent less than 1% of all Steam users.
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So did he?
You know this survey say nothing?
Did you know thats we speak from Linux Gaming and not from Steam Gaming?
Did you know thats ca 50% of the Linux gamer don't use steam? OK maybe its only 30%.

How you can say the 1% Linux gamer are correct?

Maybe we have 15% linux gamer not steam gamer?

Mr. Andersson use the steam HWsurvey to say: "Our games don't comes to linux"
He don't sayed " Our games don't comes to Steam 4 linux" or "Our games don't comes to SteamOS"

And i hear over 15 years thats Linux have only 1% user share.

This is not true.


Last edited by LinuxGamesTV on 12 Sep 2015 at 9:09 pm UTC

We will never see EA on Linux because EA have had tea and biscuits with Microsoft for decades. Not going to happen, they may as well be a part of Microsoft. Facts right there

Contrary to what you seem to think/imply, there is no (anti-Linux) conspiracy.

Conspiracy? I would not say there is such but nor would I strictly deny it. I'd definitely say though that EA is overly MS-friendly for whatever reason. I would not say - as I pointed out earlier - that the decision should only be based on market share.
It duly makes sense for publishers to support platforms that are more independent just for the reason to become more independent themselves too.
The problem is: EA is one of those who have no real problem with them and MS being rather 'friends' than fierce enemies.

There was such anti-Linux campaigns not many years ago by MS and as you said: They are a company too - and thus want make money. They do not contribute to the Kernel just for fun or gratefulness - but because they need to.
But they try to hold Linux small. Obviously. I cannot blame them for hoping that one of their bigger challengers stays small - and trying to achieve this.

There's no conspiracy but I could definitely imagine there being non-formal agreements to better cooperate between some of the bigger players. And also between EA and MS.
As I said, it's not all down to numbers and EA could definitely have an interest into getting more independent from MS. It's just that they profit from this monopoly more than others.
my 2ct

How you can say the 1% Linux gamer are correct?

Maybe we have 15% linux gamer not steam gamer?

15% Linux gamers - no, definitely not. And most of them use steam, at least those who are in the target group of EA.
It might not be 1%. But it never is far more than 3%. And 3% - they say, I do not agree - is not enough for profiting.

I wouldnt say the numbers are wrong. I'd say it does not make any sense to run the numbers.

How you can say the 1% Linux gamer are correct?

Maybe we have 15% linux gamer not steam gamer?

15% Linux gamers - no, definitely not. And most of them use steam, at least those who are in the target group of EA.
It might not be 1%. But it never is far more than 3%. And 3% - they say, I do not agree - is not enough for profiting.

I wouldnt say the numbers are wrong. I'd say it does not make any sense to run the numbers.

A Linux user hows play games on Linux is a linux gamer.
We have open source gamer and we have gamer how buys games.

And now don't say, if i play only open source games, thats i'm not are a linux gamer.

And i sayed maybe, not we have.
My point is that the 1% are incorrect. No matter what you do, the 1% remain false.

Any stay surprised with that announce?????

EA dont have any intentions with support linux maybe can posible see first pes on linux before fifa on linux

However sadly have some interesting franchises like as: Mirrors Edge, Dragon Age and others

^_^


Last edited by mrdeathjr on 12 Sep 2015 at 9:23 pm UTC

A lot of negative comments here. First, I've used steam for many years and the frequency I've seen the HW survey on linux is similar to windows.

Secondly, this is pretty simple, at this point in time they don't see the ROI for developing for linux. This does not mean they can't turn a profit by developing for the platform, it simply means they could see a greater return by using funds elsewhere. I make very similar decisions every day in my line of work, there's only so much cash, equipment and manpower, it has to be used in a way that drives maximum shareholder value. The bottom line is EA doesn't care about you, innovation, being first etc. They have a dollars and cents mentality and as a gamer I really dislike them for it, but from a business perspective I understand it.

Third point, the minute the ROI starts to improve (as it most certainly will as steambox's launch) I fully expect penny pinching companies like EA to rapidly change their tune.

And now don't say, if i play only open source games, thats i'm not are a linux gamer.

In no way doing that.

And i sayed maybe, not we have.
My point is that the 1% are incorrect. No matter what you do, the 1% remain false.

Well, I accept your point. It might be very well right.
BUT: EA doesn't care. This was a small twitter one-line short explanation why they don't support Linux. Probably they even ran their own numbers. And it might even hit 2% - they don't care.
I guess it would only matter if Linux gaming would be >5% AT LEAST.

Still, imho, using those numbers is dumb - but well, they do. And no matter whether 1% is wrong - 15% is too. And anything just merely up to 5% too. Sad, yes. Truth, sadly too.

Third point, the minute the ROI starts to improve (as it most certainly will as steambox's launch) I fully expect penny pinching companies like EA to rapidly change their tune.

Just to add to that, I think it's important for people to understand that EA is not really in the game development business. A lot of the small developers who make Linux versions of their games have people on staff who know enough to make Linux versions. EA is a huge publisher with lots of subsidiaries. As I pointed out before, they don't even port all of their games to Windows. The reason being, they acquire developers, rather than developing themselves.

If a development team they acquire does not have PC devs on staff, they're probably not going to go out of their way to hire them. The same is true for Linux. Granted, they could hire third-party porters, but when they're raking in money the way they are, they have no motivation. There is no conspiracy with Microsoft and no animosity toward Linux. EA doesn't have a personality, contrary to what [some laws might suggest](http://www.npr.org/2014/07/28/335288388/when-did-companies-become-people-excavating-the-legal-evolution). It's a faceless, heartless corporation driven by numbers.

Honestly, even if Steam machines take off, I doubt we'll see EA games on SteamOS any time soon, until EA makes some acquisitions that involve Linux development. They won't hire an in-house Linux dev team. That's just not something they do, as far as I know.

Well, the last EA SimCity was a mess only them are able to produce.
On the other hand Linux has Cities: Skylines which completely outclasses their poor attempt at doing again what's already there. See, everything's not so sad :p

Just by the fact than Frostbite will support Vulkan is great. We are not only wanting the success of Linux as a gaming platform, we want Vulkan to be successful too, and Frostbite will help to achieve that last point. Its great than they are looking forward that too.

Why is it that some small time developer from some indie house can port their game
to opengl/cross-plat but the big studios with multi million dollar budgets and 75 employees
can't be bothered?

Why is it that some small time developer from some indie house can port their game
to opengl/cross-plat but the big studios with multi million dollar budgets and 75 employees
can't be bothered?

Most indies don't build their own engines. Unity, Unreal, and now Cryengine have Linux support. Someone else already did the bulk of the work porting the engine, so the dev has less work. It's still extra work, but not the same as having to support the engine on several platforms themselves.
On the other hand, smaller studios that use their own engines seem to have a far harder time with native Linux support, like Larian and CDPR. I guess the Serious Engine (Talos Principle, Serious Sam 3) by Croteam is a counter-example, don't know how those studios compare in size, or how their engines compare in complexity and reliance on middleware.

In addition, for a less known indie dev it may well be a bigger advantage to tap into the less crowded Linux market. Just write something nice about Linux on some blog or twitter, and every Linux gaming site will talk about you and your game.

Forget about EA. Who cares about them except for the old games they own (like the Neverhood)? As for the rest, EA can get lost. What else is new?


Last edited by Shmerl on 13 Sep 2015 at 1:44 am UTC

The tide will change for the underdog OS. Once AMD/NVIDIA have drivers that are more stable and easier to get working without crazy workarounds, and Vulkan comes out, then SteamOS. Yes EA may not care atm, but within a year that %1 is likely to grow, hopefully larger then Mac.

EA, the EA who fucked up so many beloved studios? I think I will do quite fine without their games.

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Yes EA may not care atm, but within a year that %1 is likely to grow, hopefully larger then Mac.

As you still get to the 1%?
I and others have written often enough, that's are the 1% a fairy tale number is.

Even if you repeat the 1% here, a scattered lie is not true.


Last edited by LinuxGamesTV on 13 Sep 2015 at 2:47 am UTC

For EA games the only way to run on Linux remains emulation or 3rd party reverse engineered ports. Same old same old, not surprising.

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Yes EA may not care atm, but within a year that %1 is likely to grow, hopefully larger then Mac.

As you still get to the 1%?
I and others have written often enough, that's are the 1% a fairy tale number is.

Even if you repeat the 1% here, a scattered lie is not true.

Even if that number is a lie there is no other reliable survey to check. So to all world Linux games are less than 1% and even this number is false and we are two times more still Linux games do not generate a lot of profit for companies who actually port fames. I do not think EA will ever support Linux it could support SteamOS (if many people would bought it) but as support goes never Linux as whole.