Gog hates Linux and support it only as an afterthought. There’s no galaxy, so when a new game comes out you need to redownload the entire game usually and install it again. For Win only games, you need something like Lutris to install and run the game. But, they are drm-free.

Steam treats Linux as a first class citizen and Valve puts lots of money into it. Both native and non-native games live together in the Steam client and are virtually indistinguishable, they all update and their saves sync and Valve puts lots of effort into making Win only games run as well as they can. But, many have drm.

It’s your call, really.

Quoting: damarrinThere’s no galaxy, so when a new game comes out you need to redownload the entire game usually and install it again. For Win only games, you need something like Lutris to install and run the game. But, they are drm-free.

lgogdownloader and wyvern are a thing. They support incremental updates.

I've preferred GOG. Valve may do more to support Linux but they want to lock you into their platform.

Above all, as a gamer I use Steam because it’s convenient and has tons of features other stores don’t and some of the best prices. They also happen to do a lot more to support Linux as a gaming ecosystem than GOG, so that pleases me as a Linux gamer specifically. At present I see GOG as a plan B to fall back to if Valve ever abuse their position and try to lock me in, so I don’t really buy anything there anymore but I do make use of GOG Connect when I can. But unfortunately for Projekt Red, that doesn’t make them any money.

Definitely GOG I have 500+ games on it and I don't have any Steam account.
I think this is a pity when I see Linux guys defend too much Steam, as I said many times, I think we have to get rid off DRM in all "media" not just video games. If people could stand up against it radically I don't think this would be the norm but then again people have to consume... People like to be tied to something it seems.

Steam have too much "power" in the Gaming industry so I can't like it.
Steam and the players are to blame, in some aspects it's their fault if now on PC we have most of boxed games tied to Steam...

Like mirv, don't forget about itch.io!

GOG (and Itch) for access to game assets. Several developers have opened up their game code with git but often without the art and assets. It is the best possible situation for both parties, the developer gets their purchase and the player actually owns the game they bought down to the code.

Quoting: CyrilDefinitely GOG I have 500+ games on it and I don't have any Steam account.
I think this is a pity when I see Linux guys defend too much Steam, as I said many times, I think we have to get rid off DRM in all "media" not just video games. If people could stand up against it radically I don't think this would be the norm but then again people have to consume... People like to be tied to something it seems.

Steam have too much "power" in the Gaming industry so I can't like it.
Steam and the players are to blame, in some aspects it's their fault if now on PC we have most of boxed games tied to Steam...

Like mirv, don't forget about itch.io!

Just about anything which weaponizes encryption against it's own users is textbook DRM and, unfortunately, I believe that the issue is just too nuanced for most people to be able to see. The goal of most Steam users is to have access to as many games as possible and they do not seem to care who (or what) gets trampled on the way to accessing those games.

Steam only here, main reasons are convenience (e.g. auto-updates, Steam Play) and Valve's heavy investment into Linux. Furthermore buying and playing with Steam for Linux incl. Steam Play goes as "Purchased for Linux" into the books.

Last edited by jens on 29 December 2019 at 7:07 pm UTC

Quoting: damarrinGog hates Linux and support it only as an afterthought.

There is a difference between not providing full support and hating Linux as a platform. There is a reason why GOG.com has a positive relationship with this very website.

In my case I use GOG.com primarily but will also buy games from itch.io or Humble Store if they are DRM free and will also on occasion buy directly from a developer.

Last edited by Hamish on 30 December 2019 at 8:07 am UTC

GOG.com it is for me because I like their DRM-free approach and being able to save the games on an external HDD or my file server and play them whenever and wherever I want.

I do have a Steam account. But I really don't like Steam. So I hardly ever use it. I only got Steam for AAA games that I absolutely want to play on PC. In fact, I got Steam for Deus Ex Human Revolution back then and added only maybe a handful of other games since then.

However, I have to admit that it is really great how easy it is now to play Windows games with Proton.


Well then, happy new year everyone!

I've always used Steam, probably just because it seemed like the default or the 'go to'.

I can't say anything bad about it really, but then I haven't got much to compare it to.