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The OpenGL Successor Is Due To Be Unveiled At GDC

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The OpenGL successor "glNext" is going to be shown off at the GDC this year, with Valve, Epic Games, Electronic Arts, Frostbite Engine Team, Unity Technologies and Oxide Games.

QuoteJoin us for the unveiling of Khronos' glNext initiative, the upcoming cross-platform graphics API designed for modern programming techniques and processors. glNext will be the singular choice for developers who demand peak performance in their applications. We will present a technical breakdown of the API, advanced techniques and live demos of real-world applications running on glNext drivers and hardware.


It certainly will be interesting to see what they have so far, and to see how interested in it companies like EA are. It could be fantastic, but I'm keeping my enthusiasm in-check for this, as there may not be too much to show right now, and it certainly doesn't mean that we will see any Linux ports from EA any time soon even with them backing the spec.

The other half of me is very keen to see what "live demos" they have. If, for example, EA have some sort of engine demo of Frostbite running on glNext that could be pretty important for us.

Another thing that would be fantastic, would be to see Unity really hammer down on their OpenGL support, so that games built using their engine won't be so poor performance wise, and considering they are getting in early with support for it, it could be good news for us.

The problem is that we have had a promise of a new OpenGL API before, and it didn't really happen. Still, with big companies backing it like Valve and the others mentioned, maybe this time things will be different.

You can see the full details here.

It's worth noting that the session was originally being present by Khronos group, and now Valve, interesting! Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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Eike Feb 3, 2015
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That sounds promising!
Soltrumman Feb 3, 2015
GDC is shaping up to be a really interesting event for Steam OS / Linux gaming. glNext is the next part in getting developers to go cross platform for future games which hopefully means more games for us. Seems like perfect timing to try to steal some of Microsofts DX12-thunder with a API that works everywhere. Would not be suprised to see glNext in Android as a response to Apple's "Metal".

Since EA is onboard i would guess that Mantles days are counted, DICE has been perhaps the biggest proponent for Mantle besides AMD, and if they go glNext...

It's a bit interesting that Valve's strategy for Steam OS, as far as i can tell, is quite different from what Sony and Microsoft are doing. Instead of exclusives and hype they seem to aim make it effortless to port games to Steam OS and then working with partners to gradually grow the platform. I hope we will hear more about Valve's "Plan" from GDC aswell.
Eike Feb 3, 2015
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Quoting: SoltrummanIt's a bit interesting that Valve's strategy for Steam OS, as far as i can tell, is quite different from what Sony and Microsoft are doing. Instead of exclusives and hype they seem to aim make it effortless to port games to Steam OS and then working with partners to gradually grow the platform. I hope we will hear more about Valve's "Plan" from GDC aswell.

I still have tough times to imagine that companies can work like this: Building up a solid technological base and a base of one thousand games over several years with very little hype compared to other companies.
pd12 Feb 3, 2015
YESSS!!! I have been waiting for glNext news so I can plan my next graphics card purchase! =D
iMicq Feb 3, 2015
I don't want to be an a**, but even if EA ports some of their games to Linux, I won't be first in que to buy them for sure...
Imants Feb 3, 2015
Quoting: iMicqI don't want to be an a**, but even if EA ports some of their games to Linux, I won't be first in que to buy them for sure...

For me it depends what they port :). But to steam machines to be successful it needs help from big developers like EA, Ubisoft ore Blizzard because many still buy they're games.
Eike Feb 3, 2015
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Quoting: ImantsFor me it depends what they port :). But to steam machines to be successful it needs help from big developers like EA, Ubisoft ore Blizzard because many still buy they're games.

Agree! Even if you don't want a single game from them, it would great news for all of us if they are porting them!
Teal Feb 3, 2015
I find it a bit worrying that they have nobody from NVidia nor ATI at the presentation.

They can dream up as amazing API as they want; if the GPU makers don't bother with good driver implementation, it will be perfectly worthless.
Windousico Feb 3, 2015
Off-Topic: Lords of Xulima, Crimsonland and ClusterPack 99 now available on Linux.
iMicq Feb 3, 2015
@Teal: I didn't have any issues with nVidia drivers lately... With 3 different GPUs. (One of them was on a laptop)

@Imants: I didn't say it's bad. I just said that I wouldn't buy any games from EA. I'd rather support Valve, CD Projekt Red, Feral, etc... Tbh, I'd like to see some Blizzard games on Linux, as well, like Hearthstone or Overwatch.
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