With the Steam Deck only a few days away from release, it seems people are wondering the support status of other stores. Seems GOG won't be supporting it, which isn't surprising.
Currently, GOG does support Linux with direct downloads, although they only officially support a few versions of Ubuntu. They do not, however, support GOG Galaxy on Linux. This has been a bit of a problem, as some games with multiplayer rely on Galaxy meaning a few Linux builds on GOG came without multiplayer.
Speaking on Twitter, in reply to a YouTuber asking if they will support the Steam Deck they replied:
There's no official GOG support for SteamDeck. But since the device has an open architecture, as we understand, you can install Windows and as such also run GOG games.
They never replied to our email enquiring about it.
Technically, you won't need to do that. GOG Galaxy can run in Wine, although unsupported. On top of that, projects like Minigalaxy exist, Lutris has GOG download support, Bottles has a GOG installer and even Heroic Games Launcher is working on Linux support that's close to release - so there's options available on SteamOS 3 with the Steam Deck to get GOG games. However, Galaxy features are generally locked to their own app.
One reason that's likely GOG aren't working to expand their Linux support to Galaxy and Steam Deck, is that they aren't exactly doing well financially.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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There's no official GOG support for SteamDeck. But since the device has an open architecture, as we understand, you can install Windows and as such also run GOG games.
... or run your native Linux games from GOG on it?!?
27 Likes, Who?
Yeah, we did point out they seem to have forgotten that they do stock Linux games.There's no official GOG support for SteamDeck. But since the device has an open architecture, as we understand, you can install Windows and as such also run GOG games.
... or run your native Linux games from GOG on it?!?
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martinligabue Feb 21, 2022
also bottles has gog installer afaik
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What an embarrassing reply by them. Aren't they even aware of Lutris etc? Like how detached can they be?
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If the Steam Deck is successful enough and they survive as a company, then they might start to consider actual Steam Deck support.
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GOG's stubbornness makes me sad. I'd buy alot more, even most of my games from them, if they gave just half a damn for the Linux library they do carry.
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One thing that came to my mind. If steam OS is the official supported OS, that comes preinstalled, does this means that running Windows, voids your warranty or you just cannot ask for support?, like you are in your own if you do that?
You are free to do anything with your Steam Deck, even installing Windows, but it will probably not run well. Similar handhelds with Windows usually are not that good in performance as Steam Deck.
GOG's stubbornness makes me sad. I'd buy alot more, even most of my games from them, if they gave just half a damn for the Linux library they do carry.
I feel you. I started to buy from them, because I don't like DRM, but most of the games just doesn't work as well as on Steam. So I ended up buying on Steam when possible and only buying nostalgic games on GOG.
I use Fedora and a lot of the games from my GOG library don't run out of the box. Sometimes they run but there's no controller support. So I just end up adding them and running them through Steam anyways. The only appeal they have now is to offer DRM free games.
Same here on Fedora Silverblue.
Last edited by Zlopez on 21 February 2022 at 3:04 pm UTC
3 Likes, Who?
Was this even a surprise?
GOG doesn't care about Linux and they only care about DRM for marketing purposes.
GOG doesn't care about Linux and they only care about DRM for marketing purposes.
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I am rather disappointed by GoG. Not only have they forgotten that they still offer Linux-native games, but also they have swayed away from their "DRM free games" policy by tying multiplayer features in many games to a running instance of GoG Galaxy being logged in to an account owning the game.
This has caused many headaches because the software tends to break from time to time when being run with Lutris or when trying to run the game and GoG Galaxy within different WINEPREFIXes (i.e. due to a compatibility settings/Wine version mismatch between Galaxy and the game), as the processes can't see each other then.
This has caused many headaches because the software tends to break from time to time when being run with Lutris or when trying to run the game and GoG Galaxy within different WINEPREFIXes (i.e. due to a compatibility settings/Wine version mismatch between Galaxy and the game), as the processes can't see each other then.
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One thing that came to my mind. If steam OS is the official supported OS, that comes preinstalled, does this means that running Windows, voids your warranty or you just cannot ask for support?, like you are in your own if you do that?It's not going to void your warranty - if it breaks, you'll still be able to send it in to them for it to be fixed or whatever - and they're going to make sure that they aren't blocking having Windows on the thing, by making sure that drivers are available and everything, because that's an important part of building customer confidence in it. But if you muck up your Windows install in some way, or there's some other software problem, or it just doesn't run very well with Windows on it, the official answer will be to put SteamOS back on it, since that's how it shipped. The vast majority of Valve's customers are going to be running Windows for a heck of a long time, even if the Deck sells astonishingly well, so there will be plenty of Steam-on-Windows expertise floating about, just not necessarily much Windows-on-Deck expertise.
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Dang it, that is a new low. When they prefer to tell people to install Windows than talk about the games they already have for Linux, you know things are bad.
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walther von stolzing Feb 21, 2022
Was this even a surprise?
GOG doesn't care about Linux and they only care about DRM for marketing purposes.
I've seen the latest version of Galaxy recently, and tbh I really was taken aback by how messy it looked & was to use. I believe its original promise was to be simple, functional, optional/'out of the way', etc. Pretty disappointing on that front as well.
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I've seen the latest version of Galaxy recently, and tbh I really was taken aback by how messy it looked & was to use. I believe its original promise was to be simple, functional, optional/'out of the way', etc. Pretty disappointing on that front as well.Apart from the front page of a game where the description is too small compared to the activities box, i like the general design and features and the possibility to connect other platforms like ubi into a common library.
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I haven't checked the numbers, but it seems likely that Steam sells more DRM-free Linux games than GOG.
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yeah I understand, like any other device, installing a different OS doesn't void your warranty (didn't know that tho) but I'm still curious at what will be the official response from Valve? for example is there an official web page from valve to download drivers for the Steam Deck? or will they provide a bios update utility that runs on Windows? it's still a mystery of what the "official" approach will be, if they are too "friendly" with Windows then they might shot their own foot.During the first non-IGN hands-on session they said that they'd tested Windows on it, and didn't need to install anything special. That's what they'll be aiming for for customers, too - if there's a driver for something that's needed they'll just bung it at Microsoft to include with their install images or other Windows driver mechanism. I don't expect them to have anything Windows-related on the Steam Deck site.
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There's no official GOG support for SteamDeck. But since the device has an open architecture, as we understand, you can install Windows and as such also run GOG games.That's a very odd way to spell "Fuck off".
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Reminds me of Blizzard's response to our petition long ago; YoU aLwAyS hAvE AcCeSs To WiNdOwS aNyWaY.
That's when I stopped playing Blizzard games, never touched them once since.
That's when I stopped playing Blizzard games, never touched them once since.
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There's no official GOG support for SteamDeck. But since the device has an open architecture, as we understand, you can install Windows and as such also run GOG games.What a nonsensical reply that only makes sense for people that run Windows. Even for a Mac user, installing a whole new OS just for running games is not an option.
Dang it, that is a new low. When they prefer to tell people to install Windows than talk about the games they already have for Linux, you know things are bad.Aww, come on! They have a point, you know. It is just your Linux-centrism that keeps you from seeing it. :)
I'll explain. GOG representatives have not answered Linux-users' inquire; they have replied to Steam-user's (and, as they hope, soon-to-be-GOG-user's) question about GOG platform availability on Steam Deck. The answer makes total sense!
GOG sells Windows games, right? Right. GOG Galaxy is all about Windows, right? Yup. (Let's pretend MacOS does not exist, it is not that GOG has any plans to support "Holy Apple Silicon" or ARM architecture in general anyways). Can one install Windows on Steam Deck and get access to GOG Galaxy and all of the GOG's library? Absolutely! Will this "GOG Galaxy on Windows Deck" setup get GOG's full official support? That is correct (it will, as any other Windows PC with GOG Galaxy on it).
Remember, the original inquirer has not asked for Linux support:
Hey @GOGcom: Have you announced support for the upcoming Valve Steam Deck? Is that even possible? I will be reviewing it for YouTube when it launches and I'd LOVE to be able to play your amazing library on it if possible.(emphasis added by me)
So, yes, GOG is correct, one will be able to play GOG's amazing library on Steam Deck. Even if the solution is not for said one's taste.
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