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.
buenaventura Dec 30, 2018
"It's interesting, since their original announcement mentioned the store was coming to "other open platforms" "
Yeah wth what garbage anyways, I wonder what "open platform" they were thinking then.
Quoting: buenaventuraI wonder what "open platform" they were thinking then.FreeBSD!! Everyone is ignoring the obvious: It's the year of the FreeBSD gaming desktop!! They're going to do it just to spite Linux users ;-)
Last edited by iiari on 30 December 2018 at 9:51 pm UTC
Last edited by pb on 30 December 2018 at 9:56 pm UTC
Quoting: wvstolzingI'm really not sure whether this is the one I seem to remember, but here's something about a client ui update from early 2017:
steamdb finds UI leak, later deleted by valve
This is from kotaku; but I'm linking it only because steamdb hosts the original images on github, where they aren't as convenient to browse.
Also in July 2017, GoL reported this:
from a Valve presentation in June 2017
It might well be a fabricated memory, entrenched somehow by my dislike for the new GOG storefront, and the absurd look of the new Epic store.
A year and a half that they talked about it, and nothing since then. It seems Valve doesn't see how bad their UI is. But I guess we can only wait ;-)
Last edited by Creak on 30 December 2018 at 10:08 pm UTC
Quoting: CreakA year and a half that they talked about it, and nothing since then. It seems Valve doesn't see how bad their UI is.To be honest I don't see it either.
Quoting: SalvatosTo be honest I don't see it either.
- Encumbered UI
- Poorly made preferences/config window with way too many options that are difficult to memorize
- No smooth scrolling
- Not responsive/slow
- Using several windows (the same complaint everyone told about GIMP)
- Popups that keep stealing focus at startup
- Uselessly complex badge system (with badge levels into badges)
- Workshop that says "Follow" when you would simply expect "Install"
- and so on and so forth..
Last edited by Creak on 30 December 2018 at 10:22 pm UTC
Last edited by Code Artisan on 30 December 2018 at 10:55 pm UTC
Quoting: Whitewolfe80Valve really does have Linux on lockdown doesnt it, look Lutris adding support for gog means i am more likely to pickup more games from gog. It 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 appear to be that guy that is actually concerned everyone else seem to be on the valve are the saviours of linux gaming. My biggest concern is valve looks at its balance sheet and goes well our investment is linux isnt panning out and gabe just going okay kill it.
Let's be real here. Valve doesn't support Linux because they believe that the year of the Linux desktop is coming. Nobody does that. Valve does this because of cloud-streaming gaming that someday in the far future will be a available alternative. Because if you run a big server farm you don't want use Windows licenses. Every major publisher will someday port their games to Linux but only for their own server farms. Valve will not stop supporting Linux infrastructure because they don't really care about Linux desktop end users. That we profit from it is just a really nice side effect and we provide test results + bug reports.
rustybroomhandle Dec 30, 2018
Quoting: LeerdeckQuoting: Whitewolfe80Valve really does have Linux on lockdown doesnt it, look Lutris adding support for gog means i am more likely to pickup more games from gog. It 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 appear to be that guy that is actually concerned everyone else seem to be on the valve are the saviours of linux gaming. My biggest concern is valve looks at its balance sheet and goes well our investment is linux isnt panning out and gabe just going okay kill it.
Let's be real here. Valve doesn't support Linux because they believe that the year of the Linux desktop is coming. Nobody does that. Valve does this because of cloud-streaming gaming that someday in the far future will be a available alternative. Because if you run a big server farm you don't want use Windows licenses. Every major publisher will someday port their games to Linux but only for their own server farms. Valve will not stop supporting Linux infrastructure because they don't really care about Linux desktop end users. That we profit from it is just a really nice side effect and we provide test results + bug reports.
Yep! I was just busy drafting an on spec article that more or less concludes the same thing.
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me