Sad news, it seems GOG Galaxy won't actually be released for Linux any time soon. They may eventually get to it, but it's "not a priority".
For those that don't know, GOG now have their own Steam-like client called Galaxy. It offers things like Cloud Saves, an in-game overlay, bandwidth limiting, capturing screenshots, desktop notifications and more.
While optional, a fair few games have begun depending on it and therefore they end up not releasing Linux versions on GOG. A problem that has increased recently with a few titles.
All discussion on it, can be found in this post on the GOG forum. I would link to stuff directly, but it appears their links to specific posts don't actually do anything.
Here's one that caught my attention when sent it earlier:
They continued in another post:
And another:
It's a real shame for those who don't like Steam for various reasons and prefer GOG, this is a bit of a let down really. Especially considering this is the first solid reply we've had since Galaxy was announced in 2014. It feels like we've been waiting all this time for something, when it wasn't even being planned for yet. If you go to the official GOG Galaxy page and you're quick enough, it will flash text below the download button which includes "and soon for Linux".
Personally, I really hope more developers put their games on itch.io. They offer a good service, their site is nice, their open source client is also pretty slick. Not saying GOG are bad or evil (I'm very fond of GOG's work to bring classics back to life with DOSBox), but it's good to have alternatives.
It should go without saying, but when speaking to developers, it pays to remain as polite as possible. Also remember, this person likely isn't the one making the decisions on this. Don't shoot the messenger. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
For those that don't know, GOG now have their own Steam-like client called Galaxy. It offers things like Cloud Saves, an in-game overlay, bandwidth limiting, capturing screenshots, desktop notifications and more.
While optional, a fair few games have begun depending on it and therefore they end up not releasing Linux versions on GOG. A problem that has increased recently with a few titles.
All discussion on it, can be found in this post on the GOG forum. I would link to stuff directly, but it appears their links to specific posts don't actually do anything.
Here's one that caught my attention when sent it earlier:
QuoteWe're not posting any news, as we have no news on GOG Galaxy for Linux. As we stated before we'll eventually bring it to Linux, but currently it's not a priority for us, and we don't have any estimated date to share at this moment.
They continued in another post:
QuoteI'm not saying we're not able to, or we don't know how. But building and maintaining a Linux build will cost us resources, which as in every company are limited. Currently we're not able to spend the time required considering our internal roadmap.
And another:
QuoteGOG Galaxy was made with cross platform compatibility in mind, but each platform is a constant cost (dev, qa) . With our roadmap we don't currently have the resources to maintain the Linux version.
It's a real shame for those who don't like Steam for various reasons and prefer GOG, this is a bit of a let down really. Especially considering this is the first solid reply we've had since Galaxy was announced in 2014. It feels like we've been waiting all this time for something, when it wasn't even being planned for yet. If you go to the official GOG Galaxy page and you're quick enough, it will flash text below the download button which includes "and soon for Linux".
Personally, I really hope more developers put their games on itch.io. They offer a good service, their site is nice, their open source client is also pretty slick. Not saying GOG are bad or evil (I'm very fond of GOG's work to bring classics back to life with DOSBox), but it's good to have alternatives.
It should go without saying, but when speaking to developers, it pays to remain as polite as possible. Also remember, this person likely isn't the one making the decisions on this. Don't shoot the messenger. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
Well , it was a very well known truth.
Thus , i won't buy a single title from GOG.
I don't want to be hostile to GOG but i don't care a platform which don't care a bit about Linux.
Thus , i won't buy a single title from GOG.
I don't want to be hostile to GOG but i don't care a platform which don't care a bit about Linux.
19 Likes, Who?
Kimyrielle Aug 18, 2017
Well, in that case, I won't do any business with them anymore, unless they reconsider. Personally I am not into vintage games anyway (I played good old games when they were young) and I guess a lot of people don't know that, but most of the games they are selling don't have any DRM on Steam, either. *shrug*
20 Likes, Who?
Mohandevir Aug 18, 2017
Officialy totaly unrealistic, but I dream of an online coop store that sells Linux only games and use profits to create Linux games exclusively...
Take it as brainstorming. :)
Take it as brainstorming. :)
9 Likes, Who?
Thus, I won't buy a single title from GOG.
I don't want to be hostile to GOG but i don't care a platform which don't care a bit about Linux.
That's a good attitude to take if you'd like to ensure they never change their priorities.
I don't want to be sycophantic to GOG but I reckon you're overly unfair on them. We're still a tiny market. They actually support Linux as a platform. They release what they can within the confines of their developer relationships.
The fact that they haven't yet released a client shouldn't take away from what they have given us (at a brief glance over 700 DRM free games).
16 Likes, Who?
This and the answer that twitch gave me earlier about their launcher on Linux only makes me sadder.
0 Likes
Linking to individual posts there works most of the time, but occasionally it's broken.
0 Likes
oberjaeger Aug 18, 2017
Not a big surprise, they belong to CD Project Red and they tricked us on Witcher III before.
7 Likes, Who?
Thus, I won't buy a single title from GOG.
I don't want to be hostile to GOG but i don't care a platform which don't care a bit about Linux.
That's a good attitude to take if you'd like to ensure they never change their priorities.
I don't want to be sycophantic to GOG but I reckon you're overly unfair on them. We're still a tiny market. They actually support Linux as a platform. They release what they can within the confines of their developer relationships.
The fact that they haven't yet released a client shouldn't take away from what they have given us (at a brief glance over 700 DRM free games).
I think i'm not unfair to them actually.
When you compare how big Steam vs Gog and their support about Linux , with your comment you're being unfair to Valve.
Gog is simply saying , Windows and MacOS is all i need.
We're not even %1 on Steam which held much more gamers than Gog , they're still supporting Linux.
8 Likes, Who?
I think the main problem is that by not supporting Galaxy, they hurt their own Linux user base, since new Linux users are less likely to use them. It's clearly a management issue that they have.
15 Likes, Who?
qptain Nemo Aug 18, 2017
This and the answer that twitch gave me earlier about their launcher on Linux only makes me sadder.Which was?
1 Likes, Who?
Having a runtime dependency on gog galaxy is just as bad as having a runtime dependency on steam I think. An optional client would be great, but I dislike a direct dependency. You can still provide features like cloud storage, achievements and overlay through a plugin architecture with the extra features disabled if not launched through galaxy.
Last edited by Ketil on 18 August 2017 at 7:53 pm UTC
Last edited by Ketil on 18 August 2017 at 7:53 pm UTC
7 Likes, Who?
linuxjacques Aug 18, 2017
The thing that really annoys me is when a company announces something coming for Linux and then we never hear about it again.
They should announce when they change their minds / plans too.
They should announce when they change their minds / plans too.
12 Likes, Who?
Mountain Man Aug 18, 2017
Not coincidentally, spending my money at GoG is not a priority.
Funny how these things work.
Funny how these things work.
23 Likes, Who?
RussianNeuroMancer Aug 18, 2017
I wonder if JuriJ, who was (and maybe still is) head of GOG support, is works there this days.
We had nice conversation with him in year 2011 about Linux support at GOG. He sent me dozen and half e-mails with detailed explanation of why I am wrong, why nobody makes games for Linux (because nobody buys it, he said, and mention EA as example) and why they are not going to release games for Linux (because they make good money without it, he said; but in next letter he takes his words back, and accept it was emotional).
So when CDR cancelled TW3 port it doesn't surprise me. Now I am not surprised either. Because, you know, it's unlikely that JuriJ is only one at GOG who looks at Linux this way.
Last edited by RussianNeuroMancer on 18 August 2017 at 8:10 pm UTC
We had nice conversation with him in year 2011 about Linux support at GOG. He sent me dozen and half e-mails with detailed explanation of why I am wrong, why nobody makes games for Linux (because nobody buys it, he said, and mention EA as example) and why they are not going to release games for Linux (because they make good money without it, he said; but in next letter he takes his words back, and accept it was emotional).
So when CDR cancelled TW3 port it doesn't surprise me. Now I am not surprised either. Because, you know, it's unlikely that JuriJ is only one at GOG who looks at Linux this way.
Last edited by RussianNeuroMancer on 18 August 2017 at 8:10 pm UTC
4 Likes, Who?
elbuglione Aug 18, 2017
Stop GOG advertising, they are NOT Linux friendly.
7 Likes, Who?
[email protected] Aug 18, 2017
Same reason why i haven't bought a single thing from GOG. They didn't make me, the customer, a priority so i didn't make them one either.
5 Likes, Who?
haha.. Wonder where we heard this before.. Soon there will be no plans. And then it was never planed for linux. Maybe we should grap a screen shot quick before they remove the Linux info about gog galaxy on the download page.
To me, gog is atleast better when it comes to runnible games, less junk games and DRM-Free stuff.
I also like the more "private" system GOG has. Steam has login offline yes, but I dont really like the way steam does it.
We have over 11k votes for a Linux client btw.
EDIT: Maybe I should reconsider going back to steam, atleast they try to push linux or care.
Last edited by Zelox on 18 August 2017 at 8:44 pm UTC
To me, gog is atleast better when it comes to runnible games, less junk games and DRM-Free stuff.
I also like the more "private" system GOG has. Steam has login offline yes, but I dont really like the way steam does it.
We have over 11k votes for a Linux client btw.
EDIT: Maybe I should reconsider going back to steam, atleast they try to push linux or care.
Last edited by Zelox on 18 August 2017 at 8:44 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Luke_Nukem Aug 18, 2017
Somehow this post made me really sad. I was expecting GOG Galaxy for Linux any time soon (as they wrote).
BTW GOG.com is now selling these "Pinata" things, where you get a random game. I bought 4 Pinatas and guess what: all games are Windows-only. Such a fail. Somehow did not expect that.
Ask them for refunds mate, and be sure to tell them why!
1 Likes, Who?
Heh, a bit amusing since if you for instance play Serious Sam: Bogus Detour (from Steam) your ~/ gets polluted with a GOG.com folder. Which apparently wont have any use since they have no interest in Linux. Good show.
I suppose Crackshell / Croteam had no interest in making non Galaxy version for Linux GOG users. Is it another example of game not released on GOG because of lacking Galaxy? Developers here are partly to blame, but less than cases when they simply ignore GOG.
Last edited by Shmerl on 18 August 2017 at 8:44 pm UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me