Quite a number of people have asked me to talk about where to buy Linux games, how to make sure developers are supported and so on, so here I am.
First of all, I am fully aware there will likely be a small backlash in the comments on certain points. We do seem to have a small minority of very vocal people who like to boast about buying dirt cheap games from places like G2A, which makes me sad. We also have a few who like to advocate piracy, which is not only sad, but makes us look really bad in the eyes of developers. For the most part though, the people commenting here are fantastic to talk to.
To make this a point: I am not aiming to single anyone out, nor am I aiming to be hostile towards anyone. Read this as if we are all sitting around the table having a *insert favourite drink* and discussing the best way to support our platform. That’s what this is all about, everything I do is to help Linux gaming progress somehow.
To get this out of the way; I flat out do not recommend buying from places like G2A and Kinguin, Samsai already wrote about that here. Read that as a starting point if you please. Basically, don’t pre-order, don’t buy from random reseller stores.
While Samsai touched on some dubious stores in his linked post, I wanted to talk about Steam key resellers in general. I would completely steer clear of all of them, that’s the single safest option here. I actually already wrote about this before here.
As you can see, we’ve already written about all of this before in various places, so it’s time to bring it together under one roof. Instead of having the information scattered across various previous articles.
So, how do you know if your purchase is counted as a Linux sale? Most of the time it’s actually pretty simple. I’ve come up with some general guidelines and information for you, it’s your call on how to act upon it. I don’t want to seem like I am forcing anything on anyone, these are my personal thoughts as always. As someone who is a gamer at heart who firmly believes in supporting developers, as well as an editor.
Cheap games & Resellers
If you’re extremely strapped for cash, rather than go to some dubious key reseller, try to wait out for spring/summer/autumn/winter sales. Most major stores now do massive sales for each season like Steam and GOG do. Sales happen so often, you really have no reason to go to some random reseller where your purchase is not just likely to count for Windows, but feed the pocket of none of the actual developers or publishers.
Steam rather often does specific Publisher or Developer sales, weekend sales, free weekends to test games and more. You have so many chances to get legitimate cheap games. If money really is the issue, you’re just not being patient enough. You are in full control of your own wallet, be smart with it. There's nothing wrong with waiting for a sale, that's not the issue here at all.
I’ve seen so many people worry about how little Linux games sell in comparison to other platforms, and buying your games dirt cheap on reseller stores only does one thing: Weaken our sales statistics even more and reduce the possibility of future ports happening.
Seeing people say things about their financial situation, well, I have news for you, you’re not entitled to anything. It’s a shame if you can’t afford it (and I feel for you!), but why should that entitle you to pay sometimes 90% less than the rest of us from a store that supports no one but itself? You know what I do if I can’t afford something? I wait until I can, I don’t buy it for 90% off the price from the back of a truck. That’s essentially what key resellers do. Not all of them mind you, but most use dubious methods of acquiring their keys.
I admit there are reasons why you may want to seek other sources, like region locking, bad dubbing of the audio in certain versions and other reasons I haven’t thought of. I don’t mean to lump everyone under the same umbrella here. The same thing, sadly, still applies to you. You’re not entitled to it, it’s best to voice your opinion to the developer directly. By going to these questionable stores, you’re still possibly hurting Linux gaming.
I really hate the word “entitled”, it sounds terrible, but it’s an accurate way of portraying some of the attitudes I’ve seen. If this offends you somehow, you should realize it’s probably a perfect description of your attitude.
If you’re still going to buy cheap games from random places, remember who you’re supporting by doing it (certainly not the developer), and remember when developers and publishers talk down Linux ports, you’re probably at least a small part of the problem. This may sound a little unfair, but it’s the honest truth of the matter. A small amount of sales being cut down even smaller is good for no one.
To quote Edwin from Feral Interactive:
I've spoken to numerous other developers who all say a similar thing. I linked to this before, but Bundle Stars is a good example of this when I asked them if they have Linux keys or just Windows keys a while ago:
Steam - Buying directly from Steam on Linux is a Linux sale. That’s a fact, so long as the game has a playable Linux version. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a SteamOS icon, if it has a Linux version, the developers will see a sale for it.
It doesn't really matter what operating system you buy your game on when it's directly on Steam, the main thing that counts is where it's first installed and played on for the first two weeks.
If you buy a key from elsewhere and don’t activate it until that particular game gets ported to Linux, that’s still a Windows sale. Why? Your key would have been generated before a Linux version existed, it would be part of a set of keys designed for a specific platform. The developer may see a Linux download, but not a Linux sale. I’ve had this confirmed from multiple different developers.
GOG - My GOG contacts have been unable to tell me how Linux games are tracked. I refuse to believe in 2016 a store as big as GOG don’t have something in place, and I don’t take their refusal to be open about it as a “we don’t track them”, but more as they are a business not wanting to divulge private business information.
It’s most likely that they track the number of downloads per-platform for each game.
I’ve tried asking developers about their stats from GOG, but no one is talking about it. It’s possible GOG specifically prohibits this.
Humble Bundle/Store - Humble as mentioned above in our quote from Edwin usually have keys for each platform.
Humble track the platform that was used to purchase each game, which is how they do their pie chart. So, if you buy it while on Linux, it’s generally a Linux purchase. The same applies as before though, if you buy it on Humble before it has a Linux version, prepare to be a Windows customer.
I am unsure how buying it from a mobile will count, as that’s never been mentioned anywhere. They most likely have a default set on it, which would probably be Windows for mobile sales. It’s possible they may wait to see what desktop system tries to redeem them, but we can’t be sure here.
Originally, Humble had a checkbox to tick which operating system to be counted for, but that hasn’t been around for some time. I did some test purchases today for researching this and never saw anything like it.
Itch.io (updated)- A statement from their head:
Games Republic - Their answer to me from last time:
Developers stores
One major way to support developers is to buy directly from their own store or website. Like the Feral store, Aspyr Media store, Virtual Programming store as some examples. That way, you are guaranteed to not only count as a Linux sale, but support developers directly with more of your money (Steam gets no cut then for example).
Final note, please try to remain respectful in the comments. There's no need to be rude or disrespectful to others. Disagreements are fine and part of life, insults and bad attitudes are not needed here.
With thanks to Samsai and Flesk for giving their input on this article. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
First of all, I am fully aware there will likely be a small backlash in the comments on certain points. We do seem to have a small minority of very vocal people who like to boast about buying dirt cheap games from places like G2A, which makes me sad. We also have a few who like to advocate piracy, which is not only sad, but makes us look really bad in the eyes of developers. For the most part though, the people commenting here are fantastic to talk to.
To make this a point: I am not aiming to single anyone out, nor am I aiming to be hostile towards anyone. Read this as if we are all sitting around the table having a *insert favourite drink* and discussing the best way to support our platform. That’s what this is all about, everything I do is to help Linux gaming progress somehow.
To get this out of the way; I flat out do not recommend buying from places like G2A and Kinguin, Samsai already wrote about that here. Read that as a starting point if you please. Basically, don’t pre-order, don’t buy from random reseller stores.
While Samsai touched on some dubious stores in his linked post, I wanted to talk about Steam key resellers in general. I would completely steer clear of all of them, that’s the single safest option here. I actually already wrote about this before here.
As you can see, we’ve already written about all of this before in various places, so it’s time to bring it together under one roof. Instead of having the information scattered across various previous articles.
So, how do you know if your purchase is counted as a Linux sale? Most of the time it’s actually pretty simple. I’ve come up with some general guidelines and information for you, it’s your call on how to act upon it. I don’t want to seem like I am forcing anything on anyone, these are my personal thoughts as always. As someone who is a gamer at heart who firmly believes in supporting developers, as well as an editor.
Cheap games & Resellers
If you’re extremely strapped for cash, rather than go to some dubious key reseller, try to wait out for spring/summer/autumn/winter sales. Most major stores now do massive sales for each season like Steam and GOG do. Sales happen so often, you really have no reason to go to some random reseller where your purchase is not just likely to count for Windows, but feed the pocket of none of the actual developers or publishers.
Steam rather often does specific Publisher or Developer sales, weekend sales, free weekends to test games and more. You have so many chances to get legitimate cheap games. If money really is the issue, you’re just not being patient enough. You are in full control of your own wallet, be smart with it. There's nothing wrong with waiting for a sale, that's not the issue here at all.
I’ve seen so many people worry about how little Linux games sell in comparison to other platforms, and buying your games dirt cheap on reseller stores only does one thing: Weaken our sales statistics even more and reduce the possibility of future ports happening.
Seeing people say things about their financial situation, well, I have news for you, you’re not entitled to anything. It’s a shame if you can’t afford it (and I feel for you!), but why should that entitle you to pay sometimes 90% less than the rest of us from a store that supports no one but itself? You know what I do if I can’t afford something? I wait until I can, I don’t buy it for 90% off the price from the back of a truck. That’s essentially what key resellers do. Not all of them mind you, but most use dubious methods of acquiring their keys.
I admit there are reasons why you may want to seek other sources, like region locking, bad dubbing of the audio in certain versions and other reasons I haven’t thought of. I don’t mean to lump everyone under the same umbrella here. The same thing, sadly, still applies to you. You’re not entitled to it, it’s best to voice your opinion to the developer directly. By going to these questionable stores, you’re still possibly hurting Linux gaming.
I really hate the word “entitled”, it sounds terrible, but it’s an accurate way of portraying some of the attitudes I’ve seen. If this offends you somehow, you should realize it’s probably a perfect description of your attitude.
If you’re still going to buy cheap games from random places, remember who you’re supporting by doing it (certainly not the developer), and remember when developers and publishers talk down Linux ports, you’re probably at least a small part of the problem. This may sound a little unfair, but it’s the honest truth of the matter. A small amount of sales being cut down even smaller is good for no one.
To quote Edwin from Feral Interactive:
QuoteIf you buy from a third party and they don't explicitly say they are selling Linux or Mac keys then you've bought a Windows key. Bundle-star for example sell Windows keys.
Doesn't matter where you play the game on third party stores the sale is based on the steam keys they have purchased. Humble Bundle for example have a set of keys tagged as Windows, Mac and Linux and hand out the correct ones based on your platform so that the correct platform sale is recorded.
I've spoken to numerous other developers who all say a similar thing. I linked to this before, but Bundle Stars is a good example of this when I asked them if they have Linux keys or just Windows keys a while ago:
Bundle StarsHi Liam, Sorry for the delay in responding over the weekend. I can confirm that we have not been sent new keys for Shadow of Mordor since the Linux release and only Windows is mentioned on the page. However, where we promote games as being available for Linux, these will all activate correctly for the platform.
Steam - Buying directly from Steam on Linux is a Linux sale. That’s a fact, so long as the game has a playable Linux version. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a SteamOS icon, if it has a Linux version, the developers will see a sale for it.
It doesn't really matter what operating system you buy your game on when it's directly on Steam, the main thing that counts is where it's first installed and played on for the first two weeks.
If you buy a key from elsewhere and don’t activate it until that particular game gets ported to Linux, that’s still a Windows sale. Why? Your key would have been generated before a Linux version existed, it would be part of a set of keys designed for a specific platform. The developer may see a Linux download, but not a Linux sale. I’ve had this confirmed from multiple different developers.
GOG - My GOG contacts have been unable to tell me how Linux games are tracked. I refuse to believe in 2016 a store as big as GOG don’t have something in place, and I don’t take their refusal to be open about it as a “we don’t track them”, but more as they are a business not wanting to divulge private business information.
It’s most likely that they track the number of downloads per-platform for each game.
I’ve tried asking developers about their stats from GOG, but no one is talking about it. It’s possible GOG specifically prohibits this.
Humble Bundle/Store - Humble as mentioned above in our quote from Edwin usually have keys for each platform.
Humble track the platform that was used to purchase each game, which is how they do their pie chart. So, if you buy it while on Linux, it’s generally a Linux purchase. The same applies as before though, if you buy it on Humble before it has a Linux version, prepare to be a Windows customer.
I am unsure how buying it from a mobile will count, as that’s never been mentioned anywhere. They most likely have a default set on it, which would probably be Windows for mobile sales. It’s possible they may wait to see what desktop system tries to redeem them, but we can’t be sure here.
Originally, Humble had a checkbox to tick which operating system to be counted for, but that hasn’t been around for some time. I did some test purchases today for researching this and never saw anything like it.
Itch.io (updated)- A statement from their head:
QuoteWe don't have a metric to associated purchases to a platform. But we do monitor what files are downloaded with a purchase so we could calculate what purchases result in Linux downloads.
Games Republic - Their answer to me from last time:
QuoteWe work directly with developers & online retailers like Nexway, which work directly with publishers too. We got that information on our About Us page: https://gamesrepublic.com/service/about-us.html
We sell only legitimate and authorized keys received directly from the publishers
Developers stores
One major way to support developers is to buy directly from their own store or website. Like the Feral store, Aspyr Media store, Virtual Programming store as some examples. That way, you are guaranteed to not only count as a Linux sale, but support developers directly with more of your money (Steam gets no cut then for example).
Final note, please try to remain respectful in the comments. There's no need to be rude or disrespectful to others. Disagreements are fine and part of life, insults and bad attitudes are not needed here.
With thanks to Samsai and Flesk for giving their input on this article. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
buenaventura Oct 6, 2016
Quoting: lvlarkAs Liam said, it's a matter of having the people that develop those 'common goods' get paid. They aren't paid out of common funds, are they?
No, and that is too bad. Although, some are (there are for example, in my country, state and regional/local funds for supporting small game developers, musicians, authors, poets etc.). And libraries, they are generally funded (at least here) by common funds. It is not a very big stretch to imagine such systems enlarged and empowered.
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buenaventura Oct 6, 2016
Quoting: EikeQuoting: buenaventuraI'm not the one who started the debate about philosophy/morality, was I?
I honestly think we should stop that part of the discussion here. We won't solve this problem. :)
No I agree, we wont of course :P The central critizism of the article I have, (as I edited in after realizing that my comment was vague), is the focus on poor people paying to little for games, while the issue of rich people not paying more is not included at all (when that issue is probably (in raw cash) a lot bigger).
Edit: actually the Humble Bundle is pretty good at illustrating this - there, rich people ARE able to pay extra (alot actually) to support developers. Such systems could be expanded.
Last edited by buenaventura on 6 October 2016 at 8:54 am UTC
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Quoting: buenaventurathe issue of rich people not paying more is not included at all (when that issue is probably (in raw cash) a lot bigger).
That is an issue I'm not touching with a ten foot pole. At least, not on any internet forum, not even GOL's.
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buenaventura Oct 6, 2016
Quoting: lvlarkQuoting: buenaventurathe issue of rich people not paying more is not included at all (when that issue is probably (in raw cash) a lot bigger).
That is an issue I'm not touching with a ten foot pole. At least, not on any internet forum, not even GOL's.
Well then I guess you shouldn't touch the inverse either :P
Edit: that is, why is it OK to rant about average people not paying full (or sale) price for a game, but not to rant about rich people not paying a lot more than full price? Especially when the latter problem is, as said, in cash terms likely a lot bigger.
Last edited by buenaventura on 6 October 2016 at 9:05 am UTC
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Right. Communists. Why should rich people have games? Lets take games from everyone! They everyone will be equal!
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buenaventura Oct 6, 2016
Quoting: ColomboRight. Communists. Why should rich people have games? Lets take games from everyone! They everyone will be equal!
That is not helpful, just trolly. If my sentiments are communist, then I guess libraries and humble bundles alike should be considered communist. In any case, we are still talking concretely about a rather specific issue, and should not be trolled into scream-fest ideological battles.
Edit: (I do love the edit button): And the issue is, in the interest of
1. fairness (fair access to culture, spec. games)
2. supporting gaming on linux
is it relevant/fair to chide poor people for not paying full premium for (linux) games, while ignoring rich peoples lackluster contribution?
Last edited by buenaventura on 6 October 2016 at 9:17 am UTC
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Quoting: buenaventuraQuoting: ColomboRight. Communists. Why should rich people have games? Lets take games from everyone! They everyone will be equal!
That is not helpful, just trolly.
+1
Last edited by Eike on 6 October 2016 at 9:22 am UTC
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Quoting: buenaventuraQuoting: lvlarkQuoting: buenaventurathe issue of rich people not paying more is not included at all (when that issue is probably (in raw cash) a lot bigger).
That is an issue I'm not touching with a ten foot pole. At least, not on any internet forum, not even GOL's.
Well then I guess you shouldn't touch the inverse either :P
Edit: that is, why is it OK to rant about average people not paying full (or sale) price for a game, but not to rant about rich people not paying a lot more than full price? Especially when the latter problem is, as said, in cash terms likely a lot bigger.
Well then, I'll touch both. Both sides follow human nature in always wanting more and not wanting to give away what they have (maybe some will find these things easier than others, within either side). Both sides should try to learn to be satisfied easier.
And as to the equalisation debate you're hinting at (which is a far broader political discussion): Most civilised countries have that to some extent. When it comes to digital media, as I've alluded to, there's plenty of free things out there. So it's not a matter of making sure average/poor people have enough digital media to have some entertainment need covered, because there's already ways to cover that. Expanding and providing easier access to those free options is something that could be worked on.
*Loving the edit button as well* Final remark about the broader issue: I am in favour of income-based pricing schemes (although I see many practical concerns, I hope we can one day overcome those), but it is just not up to us to set about taking what we feel is a fair price for us. To that point, sales come in handy. Have the money to support a dev for full price? Buy as soon as possible. Don't have that money? Wait for a sale. Until we figure out a way to target sales to groups who 'deserve it' more than others, I'll stick with that. Or with buying less games.
Last edited by lvlark on 6 October 2016 at 9:33 am UTC
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buenaventura Oct 6, 2016
Quoting: lvlarkWell then, I'll touch both. Both sides follow human nature in always wanting more and not wanting to give away what they have (maybe some will find these things easier than others, within either side). Both sides should try to learn to be satisfied easier.
Sure, that is one way of thinking of "human nature". That stuff is very academic and very complex so probably we should not dwell there.
Quoting: lvlarkAnd as to the equalisation debate you're hinting at (which is a far broader political discussion): Most civilised countries have that to some extent. When it comes to digital media, as I've alluded to, there's plenty of free things out there. So it's not a matter of making sure average/poor people have enough digital media to have some entertainment need covered, because there's already ways to cover that. Expanding and providing easier access to those free options is something that could be worked on.
I am hinting at a debate, but I do not really want to engage in it here (as you say, it is pretty pointless eh?). The specific issue of Liams article (which I liked, except for the moralizing part), is however possible to debate here.
I thought of another analogy/connection: Patreon. That is a system for people to be able to support for example Liam and get some (semi-nominal) benefits; as soon as I get rich, I will surely contribute there, more than 10 dollars even! However, we would not want him to require say 10 dollars to view GoL at all, would we? Similarly, one can discuss games and game pricing systems. Now I must eat.
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Thanks for the great article Liam, some really great info in it. And I can also only encourage all other Linux gamers out there, buy from creditable sources, and always directly from the developer if possible/feasible. Steam and GoG are also good options. I never did buy from any other source, because it is the internet. Most of it is shady or illegal. ;)
And as someone here already pointed out, voicing your opinion and contacting the developer and wanting a Linux port, is as equally important as making a valid Linux buy. Raise your voice for Linux, tweet them, email them, make them feel that Linux is important for Gaming! Sales figures are one thing, but a personal impression on one of the developers can make up for a lot. Marketing 1x1! ;)
On a final note, moral bashing should not be part of such an article, although I somewhat agree with Liam on this topic, it was just misplaced in my opinion. Making clear that G2A and consorts are shady dealers is alright and very well placed.
And a final final note to all people who defend shady deals because you are poor, turn your situation around and start making your own games. Hell, we are on Linux and have some of the best dev-tools right at our hands (or package manager). Get a FOSS game engine, and start making a game. Or get yourself GCC and start learning C++ by programming your own games. It is no rocket science or witchcraft. As a passionate (and professional) software developer I can only encourage everyone who is eager to try it for themselves. It is tons of fun and entertaining to craft your own software, even if you are only making your own little text adventure (which I once did, it was still the best game I made myself to date ;) )!
Last edited by Grimfist on 6 October 2016 at 9:45 am UTC
And as someone here already pointed out, voicing your opinion and contacting the developer and wanting a Linux port, is as equally important as making a valid Linux buy. Raise your voice for Linux, tweet them, email them, make them feel that Linux is important for Gaming! Sales figures are one thing, but a personal impression on one of the developers can make up for a lot. Marketing 1x1! ;)
On a final note, moral bashing should not be part of such an article, although I somewhat agree with Liam on this topic, it was just misplaced in my opinion. Making clear that G2A and consorts are shady dealers is alright and very well placed.
And a final final note to all people who defend shady deals because you are poor, turn your situation around and start making your own games. Hell, we are on Linux and have some of the best dev-tools right at our hands (or package manager). Get a FOSS game engine, and start making a game. Or get yourself GCC and start learning C++ by programming your own games. It is no rocket science or witchcraft. As a passionate (and professional) software developer I can only encourage everyone who is eager to try it for themselves. It is tons of fun and entertaining to craft your own software, even if you are only making your own little text adventure (which I once did, it was still the best game I made myself to date ;) )!
Last edited by Grimfist on 6 October 2016 at 9:45 am UTC
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