I’m just going to go ahead and bump this thread, because I think that the way Epic has handled Linux is incredibly poor. What does it REALLY take to make a version of the launcher for Linux? Are you really going to fire back with the old “muh distros” excuse? Come on, now. It’s easier than ever to install packages on Linux. Most people are using distros that were derived from Debian. You can start there if it’s really so hard.
What really upsets me about it all, is that Epic have the audacity to call having a linux version of the Editor, “Linux Support”. No, if you really supported Linux, you’d notice that you’re halfway there. At this point, I’d settle for some console-based Marketplace downloader as an alternative to the launcher. What would that that take to do with all of that Epic Games money, like, a week if you’re lazy? Authenticate, show a list of what you’ve purchased, give you a to download it to the appropriate folder. We’re not talking about building a nuke from scratch here.
And to anyone saying “oh just dual-boot Windows, and take the downloaded files from the Launcher’s/Engine’s folder”; You are the problem. You are why people don’t use Linux. That is not a complete experience. That is not “support”. I’m not giving up 64gb minimum of my precious hard drive space for an OS made by a company whose current mission statement is to steal as much of your personal information as possible and use it in conjunction with low level AI to profile you for the short term benefit of money, and the long-term side-effect of having that data to be used for nefarious purposes, by whoever is buying it.
I’m not saying anything that isn’t reasonable. The Editor is slower on Linux, but hey, that’s a problem that’s actually understandable! It’s not a big deal. Paltry, even. What is a big deal, is that you have paying customers that don’t even have access to the things they bought, and you’re calling that “support” Get out of town with that, and step up, if even a little.
You want to complain about small market share on Linux? Well that’s your fault. Epic could easily be the company to change that in a big way, but they simply aren’t. Right now, Valve is leaps-and-bounds ahead of this game, and one day it WILL pay off for them. Nothing wrong with playing the long game, it’s a good investment.
This is all coming from a place of good intentions. I have nothing but love for Epic, but it’s time to squat or get off the pot. Tough love begins.