GOG Officially Expands Linux Support With Native Galaxy Client In Development (linuxjournal.com)
(Sunday August 02, 2026 @10:05PM (EditorDavid)
from the gaming-the-system dept.)
- Reference: 0184820616
- News link: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/26/08/02/2019202/gog-officially-expands-linux-support-with-native-galaxy-client-in-development
- Source link: https://www.linuxjournal.com/content/gog-officially-expands-linux-support-native-galaxy-client-development
Long-time Slashdot reader [1]pyroclast shared this report from Linux Journal :
> After years of requests from the Linux gaming community, GOG has officially confirmed that it is developing native Linux support for the GOG Galaxy launcher. The announcement marks one of the biggest shifts in the company's history and signals a stronger commitment to Linux as a first-class gaming platform. While GOG has offered DRM-free Linux game downloads since 2014, its Galaxy launcher has remained exclusive to Windows and macOS — until now. Although the company has not announced a release date, GOG says Linux has become a major area of investment, with development already underway...
>
> Unlike the web-based game downloads that Linux users already have access to, GOG Galaxy serves as a full-featured game management application. The launcher currently offers features including:
>
> — Automatic game installation and updates
> — Cloud save synchronization
> — Achievement tracking
> — Playtime statistics
> — Game library organization
> — Integrated storefront browsing
> — Friends lists and social features
> — Cross-platform launcher integration
>
> Today, Linux users typically access these capabilities through community projects such as Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, or Bottles. A native Galaxy client would provide an officially supported alternative with direct integration into GOG's ecosystem...
>
> For GOG, supporting Linux more fully aligns with its philosophy of giving users greater control over their purchased games.
The article argues this news shows Linux growing in importance for game publishers. After the rapid adoption of Valve's Steam Deck, there's also been continuous improvements to Proton and Vulkan, increasing hardware compatibility, and native Linux game development efforts.
"As more companies recognize the platform's growth, Linux users can expect broader support from game publishers and software developers alike."
[1] https://slashdot.org/~pyroclast
> After years of requests from the Linux gaming community, GOG has officially confirmed that it is developing native Linux support for the GOG Galaxy launcher. The announcement marks one of the biggest shifts in the company's history and signals a stronger commitment to Linux as a first-class gaming platform. While GOG has offered DRM-free Linux game downloads since 2014, its Galaxy launcher has remained exclusive to Windows and macOS — until now. Although the company has not announced a release date, GOG says Linux has become a major area of investment, with development already underway...
>
> Unlike the web-based game downloads that Linux users already have access to, GOG Galaxy serves as a full-featured game management application. The launcher currently offers features including:
>
> — Automatic game installation and updates
> — Cloud save synchronization
> — Achievement tracking
> — Playtime statistics
> — Game library organization
> — Integrated storefront browsing
> — Friends lists and social features
> — Cross-platform launcher integration
>
> Today, Linux users typically access these capabilities through community projects such as Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, or Bottles. A native Galaxy client would provide an officially supported alternative with direct integration into GOG's ecosystem...
>
> For GOG, supporting Linux more fully aligns with its philosophy of giving users greater control over their purchased games.
The article argues this news shows Linux growing in importance for game publishers. After the rapid adoption of Valve's Steam Deck, there's also been continuous improvements to Proton and Vulkan, increasing hardware compatibility, and native Linux game development efforts.
"As more companies recognize the platform's growth, Linux users can expect broader support from game publishers and software developers alike."
[1] https://slashdot.org/~pyroclast
Typical slashdot.... (Score:2)
by ufgrat ( 6245202 )
No link to article, assumes everyone knows what GOG is.
Hard to believe no one takes slashdot seriously.....
That's cool (Score:4, Interesting)
I'm glad they're supporting Linux even more now. There aren't a lot of us but maybe with Microsoft constantly making their OS worse, some more converts will show up.
The thing is, I don't really use GOG Galaxy because the big value add for me is that I can download and install games to run off line. And admittedly this is what GOG Galaxy does in the background (and it will even backup the installer and fetch bonus content if you want it to). But I don't necessarily need galaxy to run my games, as the installer already does a nice job putting it under my desktop's menu and I can browse or search for games.
Where Steam's app is ahead is that it has better integration with friends lists and makes it easier to invite your friends into a game. It's not that huge of a deal because Discord can already do some of that on Linux today if you grant it permissions necessary for it to track what game you're playing.
Re: (Score:2)
GOG might be some good competition for Steam, but dominance is pretty strong.
Glad to see it though.
As for discord knowing what game your playing, who cares... FFS.
Re: (Score:3)
They have been promising a Linux client for over a decade now, and that never came to be. Meanwhile Steam ate their lunch.