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PayPalWith Linux gaming clearly showing it's becoming more popular, and with GOG under new ownership, there's hope yet that GOG will improve their Linux support.
GOG does currently support Linux — well, kind of. They publish Native Linux packages for various games, which depends on the developer (just like Steam does without Proton) but they have a very limited support of distributions, which can cause problems installing Linux games from GOG due to dependency mess. That, and GOG Galaxy does not support Linux.
There's easier ways to install games from GOG on Linux / SteamOS though, which you can check out in our GamingOnLinux Guide. You can even do it directly in Steam if you want to.
Things may change though, as of course you don't buy an entire store if you're not going to keep up with the industry. Speaking to PC Gamer, Maciej Gołębiewski the managing director of GOG mentioned in reply to a question about Linux that it's "one of the things that we've put in our strategy for this year to look closer at" Gołębiewski continued "I don't want to commit to any specifics, but certainly you will see this trend, and we also see that Linux is close to the hearts of our users, so we probably could do better on that front, and that's something that we'll be looking at".
New GOG owner Michał Kiciński also mentioned in regards to Windows how "It's such poor-quality software and product, and I'm so surprised that it's [spent] so many years on the market. I can't believe it!".
So, perhaps 2026 or 2027 will see GOG's Linux support get better. One can hope. All stores need proper competition, that includes Steam - it's just better for all of us.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly.
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They'll try again.
Brave.
Lets see them compete.
I really hope it's a success.
It might inspire other stores to follow.
Brave.
Lets see them compete.
I really hope it's a success.
It might inspire other stores to follow.
6 Likes
hardpenguin 9 hours ago
* sigh *
Okay, okay, if they need my help, I will make myself available
Okay, okay, if they need my help, I will make myself available
2 Likes
Even without Linux as a factor, Galaxy by itself *barely* feels like something you can put much trust into in terms of functionality. I hope they can get developers that are capable of actually fixing it up, possibly redoing it as a whole, and take that as a basis for Linux support.
One can dream I guess, but I don't really count on much from GOG, just that their installers will be convenient someday.
One can dream I guess, but I don't really count on much from GOG, just that their installers will be convenient someday.
0 Likes
That, and GOG Galaxy does not support Linux.I would vastly prefer for gog to spend the resources on officially supporting existing open source efforts such as heroic, minigalaxy, and lutris.
Last edited by emphy on 14 Jan 2026 at 2:22 pm UTC
12 Likes
On the GOG YT channel he's talking how Steam ain't all that great (<cough> Galaxy <cough>) and how it's time to start... nibbling at the competition, primarily Steam. He's not wrong, but if Linux support is supposed to drive said nibbling I envision another failure. Valve is the funding/driving force behind mainstream Linux gaming, GOG can - at best - reach remora status to Valve's shark... ness here. Not that I'd mind solid, actual competition.
That aside... for starters, Galaxy needs a rework. Even with that rework, I don't see how it can touch Steam with these oldies that are hacked together to somewhat function on a modern OS. It's a lot of work to not really get that much closer to the Steam (imperfect, sure) ecosystem in that regard. And that's the spine of GOG's business. Indies, then? They've already tried that.
On a more personal note, the guy strikes me as a poser with a mid-life crisis... and with the ability to secure not insignificant funding, and some contacts in CDPR.
According to an insider from back in the day he wasn't playing that many games during CDP's later publishing times already, then he had a fairly publicised mental breakdown in the CDPR days (which was a tough time, yeah) complete with soul searching in The Ancient Orient etc. Now he's securing (apparently) external funding for some new retro toys and he's wearing retro t-shirts to convince people he is totes of the hood, dawg, yo.
I dunno. It's a fundamentally niche business, so let's see what's next in terms of "competing" with Steam.
That aside... for starters, Galaxy needs a rework. Even with that rework, I don't see how it can touch Steam with these oldies that are hacked together to somewhat function on a modern OS. It's a lot of work to not really get that much closer to the Steam (imperfect, sure) ecosystem in that regard. And that's the spine of GOG's business. Indies, then? They've already tried that.
On a more personal note, the guy strikes me as a poser with a mid-life crisis... and with the ability to secure not insignificant funding, and some contacts in CDPR.
According to an insider from back in the day he wasn't playing that many games during CDP's later publishing times already, then he had a fairly publicised mental breakdown in the CDPR days (which was a tough time, yeah) complete with soul searching in The Ancient Orient etc. Now he's securing (apparently) external funding for some new retro toys and he's wearing retro t-shirts to convince people he is totes of the hood, dawg, yo.
I dunno. It's a fundamentally niche business, so let's see what's next in terms of "competing" with Steam.
0 Likes
Kimyrielle 7 hours ago
Quoting: emphyI would vastly prefer for gog to spend the resources on officially supporting existing open source efforts such as heroic, minigalaxy, and lutris.I would prefer that, too. We all learned not to have Galaxy available and relied on other solutions instead. Lutris in my case. I have no desire for another game library management tool. I got Steam and Lutris, and that's enough for me.
1 Likes
I think I've heard this song before. Several times in fact, and it didn't go well any of those times. 🤔
2 Likes
dziadulewicz 7 hours ago
GOG, don't look. DO.
Zoom Platform is the store to support for DRM free needs. They really embrace Linux.
Zoom Platform is the store to support for DRM free needs. They really embrace Linux.
2 Likes
In my experience, Heroic is so effortless and versatile that I don't think I'd use Galaxy even if it had native Linux support.
1 Likes
Caldathras 3 hours ago
Quoting: suchValve is the funding/driving force behind mainstream Linux gaming, GOG can - at best - reach remora status to Valve's shark... ness here. Not that I'd mind solid, actual competition.
Why can't GOG work with Valve on this? Why do they need to compete? Perhaps I'm suggesting too radical a change in mentality for contemporary business thinking...
2 Likes
Caldathras 3 hours ago
Personally, I'm all in on the idea of working with existing open source game management tools. It would be the wiser approach for them to take.
While I've gotten used to their DRM-free script-based Linux installers, I would love it if they moved the Linux offline installers to AppImage, with all of the dependencies incorporated.
Offering up something like the Steam Linux Runtime libraries for the open source tools to use would be great too. Lutris has one of their own and Heroic taps Steam somehow (not sure which one they use but it's not Runtime 4) but neither are as comprehensive as Steam themselves. That would really help, I think.
Last edited by Caldathras on 14 Jan 2026 at 8:00 pm UTC
While I've gotten used to their DRM-free script-based Linux installers, I would love it if they moved the Linux offline installers to AppImage, with all of the dependencies incorporated.
Offering up something like the Steam Linux Runtime libraries for the open source tools to use would be great too. Lutris has one of their own and Heroic taps Steam somehow (not sure which one they use but it's not Runtime 4) but neither are as comprehensive as Steam themselves. That would really help, I think.
Last edited by Caldathras on 14 Jan 2026 at 8:00 pm UTC
2 Likes
In my experience, Heroic is so effortless and versatile that I don't think I'd use Galaxy even if it had native Linux support.Agreed. And it's to the point where I actually don't know what they could contribute to the likes of Heroic. Every GOG game I have is click Install then Play.
Is there some sort of missing features and integrations they could help with ?
0 Likes
Quoting: CaldathrasIt's interesting, especially here.Quoting: suchValve is the funding/driving force behind mainstream Linux gaming, GOG can - at best - reach remora status to Valve's shark... ness here. Not that I'd mind solid, actual competition.
Why can't GOG work with Valve on this? Why do they need to compete? Perhaps I'm suggesting too radical a change in mentality for contemporary business thinking...
I mean, let's assume that GOG and Valve put in an equal amount of work, resources etc. Looking at it from a traditional business point of view Valve has the larger share of the market, so it will benefit more while investing disproportionately less. Effectively, GOG would be paying for Valve to make more. Of course, as this Linux situation currently stands GOG is basically choosing not to benefit from development that Valve is essentially giving out for free. It's right there, they just need to make the effort to pick it up and run with it. Even from a capitalist point of view that market is a growing one, albeit still small and probably not with the potential to overtake Windows. Maybe. Even that cost didn't seem to make business sense to GOG... up to now.
Maybe that's why business people are cagey about Linux support. It's got those weird "not everything has to have a price tag" and "long term plans over short term profit" things going on.
3 Likes
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