Unified Linux Wine Game Launcher (UMU) from Thomas "GloriousEggroll" Crider version 1.1.1 is out now as the first official release to help improve Linux desktop and Steam Deck gaming.
A refresher on what it is: despite the name, it's not a launcher in the sense of it being an app like Steam, Heroic Games, Lutris, Bottles, Legendary and so on. Instead, it's a tool that various apps can use to run Windows games on Linux, acting as a copy of the Steam Runtime Tools and Steam Linux Runtime that Valve uses for Proton to allow Proton to properly run outside of Steam.
From the release notes:
First official release of UMU launcher!
- Should work inside both flatpak and snap
We do not have official builds for flatpak or snap yet, but instructions are provided on building and using for both:
https://github.com/Open-Wine-Components/umu-launcher/tree/main/packaging/flatpak
https://github.com/Open-Wine-Components/umu-launcher/tree/main/packaging/snap
So what does it actually mean? It means that any app can run games using Proton just like they would from inside Steam so you can get a good experience with Windows games on Linux / Steam Deck from Epic Games, GOG, Amazon and various other stores via apps like Heroic, Lutris and others (when they add in full support for UMU).
This is all part of Open Wine Components, and so all apps will end up using the same online database of game-specific fixes that some games need to run properly via protonfixes. In short: better compatibility overall for gaming — eventually.
More info on the GitHub.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: PoliticsOfStarvingSeeing comments about this elsewhere, people asking for screenshots, why should they switch to this one from Lutris, how many more launchers do we need and so on.
People are not really getting what this is. And annoyingly most of those posts linked back to this one too, so they’re obviously not reading what Liam has spelled out.
This isn't a Lutris competitor its goal is to be a Lutris dependency.
Lutris and its competitors can use this magic box to launch things like the SteamDeck does(proton+launch options), so basically it's a Lutris runtime.
I do understand the confusion though.
Edit: also the amount of Lutris competitors that will be launched is close to infinity, because that is the spirit of the third software freedom.
If someone thinks they can do it better or even different they've the freedom and ability to use all software adhering to the software freedoms to build it.
Last edited by LoudTechie on 5 October 2024 at 6:27 am UTC
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