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.
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The comments on this article are closed.
elbuglione Aug 23, 2017
Quoting: appetrosyanQuoting: LeopardWell , 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.
They don't have it as a priority because of CDPR's recent backlash for TW2's performance. They don't care about linux, because Linux had a chance to care about them and blew it.
are we living in 2014?
a long waey has been from there... at this time, Linux Support for GOG Galaxy must have more "priority" than Mac...
honestly i prefeer Ubisoft and EA... at least they are honest with they customers.
Ubisoft/EA says: "hey! we are a shitty company with crap game client and pathetic pollicies"
But, at least, they DON'T LIE
0 Likes
Well, I'll just skip a game on GOG when it seems to be dependent on Galaxy. We still have Steam and Humble and while the absence of DRM is welcome, it is not a necessity for me.
Quoting: elbuglionehonestly i prefeer Ubisoft and EA... at least they are honest with they customers.
Ubisoft/EA says: "hey! we are a shitty company with crap game client and pathetic pollicies"
But, at least, they DON'T LIE
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: GuestAnother Steam-like client is the last thing I want. GOG just needs to improve their service by adding email notifications when a game is updated or you get an answer in the forum… And also RSS feeds for new Linux game releases and promotions.
Agreed. Itch.io does a great job as a client and with the updates via email of Linux games from the devs you follow.
0 Likes
Sir_Diealot Aug 26, 2017
I'm sort of in two minds about Galaxy. Actually, I don't want it. For the most part lgogdownloader does what I want. It allows me to comfortably download all my games so I have them backed up locally.
On the other hand I want some of the newer titles that depend on galaxy.
So the problem here is that those games depend on Galaxy. Why do they depend on Galaxy? Because they depend on Steam for multiplayer (and some other stuff). Example: "Tooth and Tail". One of the developers said on their discord server that they did the multiplayer part themselves in an early version. That included LAN functionality. They didn't want to maintain that so they switched to steam for all the network stuff. So there is no more LAN and this multiplayer-focused game depends entirely on steam. The only way for GOG to sell it is if they have something that allows them to connect to the steam services. That something is Galaxy. Galaxy is not available for Linux so we have no "Tooth and Tail" for Linux on GOG.
I don't want Galaxy. I want developers to stop depending on Steam.
On the other hand I want some of the newer titles that depend on galaxy.
So the problem here is that those games depend on Galaxy. Why do they depend on Galaxy? Because they depend on Steam for multiplayer (and some other stuff). Example: "Tooth and Tail". One of the developers said on their discord server that they did the multiplayer part themselves in an early version. That included LAN functionality. They didn't want to maintain that so they switched to steam for all the network stuff. So there is no more LAN and this multiplayer-focused game depends entirely on steam. The only way for GOG to sell it is if they have something that allows them to connect to the steam services. That something is Galaxy. Galaxy is not available for Linux so we have no "Tooth and Tail" for Linux on GOG.
I don't want Galaxy. I want developers to stop depending on Steam.
3 Likes, Who?
Sir_Diealot Aug 26, 2017
Quoting: GuestQuoting: Sir_DiealotI don't want Galaxy. I want developers to stop depending on Steam.Having games depend on Galaxy instead is not a solution :-/.
Obviously not, I was not suggesting that. Just don't have the game depend on any third party service. Sure, network stuff is not trivial, but it worked for thousands of games before Steam even existed.
0 Likes
While I am all for games on Linux, I think I am a little more realistic in my expectations. Honestly, I doubt they will ever release a GoG Linux client.
Lets start the discussion with Steam. I believe the main reason Steam supports Linux is that Valve was developing SteamOS and Steam Boxes. They felt they could break into the gaming/console market and make a large impact. For good or ill, those products were a commercial failure. However, it did bring Linux support to Steam. I dont believe Valve would have made a Linux client, if it wasnt for this venture. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, Linux is simply not a popular desktop operating system. Depending on where you get your statistics the percentage varies, but its safe to say Linux makes up less than 2% of desktop users. In addition to that, Linux users on Steam make up a miniscule .41% (yes, less than 1/2 of a percent) of operating systems as of January, 2018. With a practically nonexistent percentage of users, sales of Linux based games was very low - and have been dropping every year. Obviously, developers were enticed by the possibility of Steam Boxes making a big splash in the market and ported games to Linux. With the failure of Steam Boxes and SteamOS, there is no cost benefit in porting games to Linux. Another thing to point out, technically Steam for Linux is only supported on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and newer with the Unity, Gnome, or KDE desktop. There is simply no way to support the hundreds of Linux distributions. They simply had to pick the most popular distro out of necessity. While I dont foresee it happening, I do not find it out of the realm of possibility that one day Valve may drop support for Linux. I doubt the cost of maintaining the client has to cost more than the money it brings in.
GoG doesnt have a fraction of the resources Valve has. Investing in development and maintaining a Linux client is no small task. Few developers are making Linux games or are willing to port popular games to Linux. Couple that with the lack of actual Linux users, with only a fraction of those users who actually play games, it simply just doesnt make financial sense to make a Linux client.
While my main gaming machine is Windows, all my TVs are connected to PCs or laptops running Linux. I am quite content using Steam In-Home Streaming to play games from my couch or bed. This gives me the luxury of playing a title for any OS anywhere in my home, if they are not locally installed on the Linux box.
Lets start the discussion with Steam. I believe the main reason Steam supports Linux is that Valve was developing SteamOS and Steam Boxes. They felt they could break into the gaming/console market and make a large impact. For good or ill, those products were a commercial failure. However, it did bring Linux support to Steam. I dont believe Valve would have made a Linux client, if it wasnt for this venture. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, Linux is simply not a popular desktop operating system. Depending on where you get your statistics the percentage varies, but its safe to say Linux makes up less than 2% of desktop users. In addition to that, Linux users on Steam make up a miniscule .41% (yes, less than 1/2 of a percent) of operating systems as of January, 2018. With a practically nonexistent percentage of users, sales of Linux based games was very low - and have been dropping every year. Obviously, developers were enticed by the possibility of Steam Boxes making a big splash in the market and ported games to Linux. With the failure of Steam Boxes and SteamOS, there is no cost benefit in porting games to Linux. Another thing to point out, technically Steam for Linux is only supported on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS and newer with the Unity, Gnome, or KDE desktop. There is simply no way to support the hundreds of Linux distributions. They simply had to pick the most popular distro out of necessity. While I dont foresee it happening, I do not find it out of the realm of possibility that one day Valve may drop support for Linux. I doubt the cost of maintaining the client has to cost more than the money it brings in.
GoG doesnt have a fraction of the resources Valve has. Investing in development and maintaining a Linux client is no small task. Few developers are making Linux games or are willing to port popular games to Linux. Couple that with the lack of actual Linux users, with only a fraction of those users who actually play games, it simply just doesnt make financial sense to make a Linux client.
While my main gaming machine is Windows, all my TVs are connected to PCs or laptops running Linux. I am quite content using Steam In-Home Streaming to play games from my couch or bed. This gives me the luxury of playing a title for any OS anywhere in my home, if they are not locally installed on the Linux box.
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QuoteI would link to stuff directly, but it appears their links to specific posts don't actually do anything.
Actually, it kind of does. It takes you to the correct page, so you'll at least have a chance to find the post being mentioned. But yeah, it doesn't actually go to the correct post.
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