Thanks to a post on Reddit, we've learned that Epic Games currently have no plans to put their store on Linux.
In response to a user question about it on Twitter, Sergey Galyonkin, the person behind Steam Spy who now works for Epic Games as the "Director of Publishing Strategy" said this:
It really isn’t on the roadmap right now. Doesn’t mean this won’t change in the future, it’s just we have so many features to implement.
It's interesting, since their original announcement mentioned the store was coming to "other open platforms" besides Windows, Mac and Android which we presumed would mean Linux. It's odd, since there aren't really other open platforms besides those to put a store on. We also had Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic Games, give a ray of hope on Twitter with "We'll See :D" in reply to a user asking if the other open platforms meant Linux. So, I do still find it very odd that it's not on the roadmap at all. Not surprising though, Linux has always been low priority for Epic Games.
This could create an issue for us in future, since Epic Games are taking on timed-exclusive games which would mean no possibility for a Linux version until that ends. Even then, the developers of those games could decide to remain solely on the Epic Store. Remember, this has already happened with Satisfactory from Coffee Stain having the Steam store page removed to be exclusive to the Epic Store.
Speaking on Reddit, Epic's Sweeney said "These exclusives don’t come to stores for free; they’re a result of some combination of marketing commitments, development funding, or revenue guarantees.". So with that in mind, Epic Games are offering some commitments to developers to get their games, which could sway some future high-profile titles away from the likes of Steam.
For Linux gamers we still have Steam, GOG, Humble Store, itch.io and a few others which support Linux games. Heck, even Discord confirmed their store will come to Linux. For now, the Epic Store isn't a huge deal and doesn't have a lot of games (or features) for users so it won't be a huge problem right away. It will be interesting to follow, especially to see what Valve plan to do to prevent too many games leaving.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
But as mentioned in the article, if Linux isn't even on the roadmap, what other platforms are there?
Quoting: LiotheVaguely mentioning "other open platforms" was them unwilling to commit to anything.
But as mentioned in the article, if Linux isn't even on the roadmap, what other platforms are there?
Most likely The switch which is funny because that runs a bespoke version of linux as its os
Valve is ready for this scenario. Humble, GoG and Itch.io too. And I bet Origin, UPlay and even Epic will adapt very quickly and release Linux versions of their store clients ;)
Other than that, yeah, I didn't expect Epic to release a Linux client of their store. Tim Sweeney might ramble about Microsoft a lot, but he has no real interest in support Linux. "We'll see :D" means nothing but delaying tactics, until real results occur. And as suspected, they don't have any plans in support Linux. So much for the great new store with a better cut for devs. Well, it might be a great new store... just not for us.
Quoteit’s just we have so many features to implement.
Yeah, pretty much everything missing. Even an actual store. :D
wvstolzing Dec 30, 2018
Quoting: Whitewolfe80Most likely The switch which is funny because that runs a bespoke version of linux as its os
Epic's usage of 'open platform' *probably* means something like 'platform that allows running 3rd party executables acquired from some independent source' -- so, it's a way of saying 'everything but the consoles'.
By the way the Switch runs on the FreeBSD kernel (like the PS4), it's not a version of Linux.
Quoting: Whitewolfe80It would appear nobody is willing to bet on linux with the exception of Valve who are only investing in linux as a long term stratergy in case MS tries to lock down the next version of windows (well even more then now).
I won't say there's no truth to that, because it most certainly is... but I wouldn't say it's the ONLY reason. It's expansion. By going to Linux they reach even more people. More customers. More happy people. And of course more money. I doubt they supported MacOS because it's a way to get away from Windows ;)
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