Finally, developers of We Happy Few [Official Site, GOG, Steam, Humble] from Compulsion Games started working on the Linux version, and they plan to be ready on or shortly after the release of the game which is scheduled for April 13 next year.
They posted an update on their Kickstarer page:
Hey guys! I've been working in the shadows for a while now, but since this is my first weekly: Hi! I'm Maarten, working as a freelance programmer, mostly tasked with engine support. That means my stress levels are *slightly* lower than those of the other programmers, and I get to work on some fun stuff! :) You may know me from such features as Video Support or Community Localization, but this week I'm hacking away at the Linux build for We Happy Few. Good news for our Linux fans, we're making good progress there. We sorted out all compilation issues, and are now fixing third party lib per lib. It's a cumbersome process, between switching to/from Linux, toolchain mismatches, having to figure out each lib's build process, etc - but hey, the thrill of the challenge is what we're programmers for, right?
It will be interesting to see how it will progress. So far their communication has been superb, and hopefully they’ll continue that trend for their Linux work too.
From their press release:
We Happy Few is the tale of a plucky bunch of moderately terrible people trying to escape from a lifetime of cheerful denial. Set in a drug-fuelled, retrofuturistic city in an alternative 1960s England, you’ll have to blend in with its other inhabitants, who have their own set of not-so-normal rules.
Currently announced for Xbox One, Windows, Mac and Linux, We Happy Few is currently on Microsoft Game Preview / Steam Early Access. The Mac and Linux version will arrive shortly after the final release of the game.
Just look what they did to Shadow of War (sequel to Shadow of Mordor). I don't even care if they port it or not, it's shameful. I just hope people here won't be blindly defending it, because we need big titles. That would be sad day.
What happened exactly? I don't follow gaming news in general, i.e. Windows/consoles, only Linux related, so I wouldn't know.
They filled Shadow of War with micro payments.
As for the game itself, I personally think I'll skip this one unless it's on sale.
Maybe it will still be worth it but I doubt I'll be picking it up on launch
Rome, as they say, wasn't built in a day :-) There won't be a single killer game for linux that will overnight "win" the desktop. It will be a slow and seemingly desperate trudge towards that goal, with naysayers giddily proclaiming "See, I told ya, even game X wasn't sufficient to make linux popular enough for the masses." And then one day we'll realize that linux is popular enough and we have plenty of games to play.
Never give up hope.
The game stands on it's own merits. The reviewers were unison with the gamers reception. It collected pretty much all there was of major GOTYS that year. As for me personally Bioshock was the game that reignited my enthusiasm for the entire genre, no less. It was a watershed moment.
But regardless: I think you get my point. Within all genres there's good and bad and (mostly) mediocre games. A good game is a good game. And with Gearbox behind this release, and more power behind the development this release can indeed elevate to that upper sector of games. At the very least a better chance to do so, than if it was still developed by someone on a very tight budget.
And then it can become be more than "just another survival game".