GOG is really behind Linux games

allenskd

allenskd

Active Member
Hey guys,

Just wanted to share some thoughts here on GOG.com, as much as I love them they are reallyyyy behind linux games. Even digital distributions like Humble Bundle are quick to add the linux counterpart, but with GOG this isn't the case. For example, there's this game I want to play called Expeditions: Conquistador, the linux version has been around on Steam for months now.

Even Humble Store has it with its linux package: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/expeditions_conquistador_storefront

I'm sick tired of the waiting. GOG is a small team sure, so is humble bundle. GOG is backed by CDProjekt which makes a huge difference.

Really frustrating on GOG's part. I might as well just buy all the games on Steam or Humble Bundle :/
 
Tower of Guns and Signal Ops both have native Linux version in Steam as well, but not on GOG
There must be some political or monetary reason why these games aren't on GOG
It doesn't make any sense to me.

If GOG is pushing Linux why aren't these games available on their site with Linux counterparts?
GOG doesn't even have to port them, these game are read-to-go
 
Today, I've been mindblown by the response given by GOG on the matter... pretty much a canned response that leaves much to be desired:

We continue to expand our Linux catalog and we do our best to add Linux-supported games to our offer as often as possible.
Many of our premiere indie titles offer native Linux versions already and we're constantly working on adding Linux compatibility to our back-catalog games as well. It's hard to tell when--or if--a specific game will undergo that treatment, as it requires not only technical work, but also licensing agreements. We hope, however, that you'll find our existing Linux catalog already quite impressive.

Regards,
Natalia
GOG.com Support
Click to expand...

So... it doesn't really answer anything. I guess I'll go ask the creators to see if they can shed some light.
 
Yeah, it sounds like they only have a small staff working on Linux and (as usual) its not high priority.
How hard can it be to make an already-Linux-ready-product available? As noted in my last post...
 
I've been using GOG since the beta startup years ago. I get the impression that they focus a bit too much on creating the "hassle-free" installers. Before they started selling Linux versions too, they would often state when asked about Linux that it was a very difficult platform because of the different distributions. They did not want to begin supporting a new platform unless they could provide the same support and easy installers as they have for windows and mac.

GOG also actually fully play through games on the supported platform before offering the game to ensure that it works.
 
Good point! I totally forgot about the installers. I have yet to install a GOG Linux game because I do so many PlayOnLinux tests.
So they have to make their own Linux Installer for all Linux games. Even the UDK or Unity games?
 
They make .deb files for installing the game on Ubuntu and Mint. Although there are actually a couple of games on GOG that don't have those .deb installers, The Witcher 2 and Dreamfall Chapters. So I am not sure why they don't have such installers for all games.

The Ubuntu/Mint installer really only ensure you have all dependencies installed as far as I understand. I just use the .tar archive they also offer and extract it.

Personally I think it is their focus on quality that is slowing them down. They really do take time to test things before making it available to customers.
 
I think its great they focus on ease-of-use
How are gamers going to be attracted to Linux if they have problems installing their game?
.Deb files work perfectly for me.

I've downloaded a few from HumbleBundle.com and they install just fine.
 
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