Epic Games Launcher comes to SteamOS

Epic Games has confirmed releasing a SteamOS version of the Epic Games Launcher, so the app will also work on Steam Deck. But the news isn't just about Valve's system. The main plan is to bring the launcher to a much wider audience of Linux users.

SteamOS isn't a one-stop shop for Epic Games Launcher

SteamOS is a Linux-based system. In the Linux world, there are many different distributions (distros). So Epic is targeting many of these. Speaking to Gaming On Linux, Epic Games Communications Director Jake Jones said that the work does not end with SteamOS.

The list given by Jones includes "Fedora, SteamOS, Cachy, Omarchy and more." He also stated that the Launcher is currently in preview. He explained that his goal is "to support as many distributions as possible." So Steam Deck owners are just the first stop.

Which distributions will come?

The rest of the list is unclear. It seems that Epic will focus on the most widely used distributions first. On the other hand, there are at least 600 active Linux distributions. That's why it seems unlikely that the launcher will come to all of them.

Launcher is not the only thing missing for gaming on Linux. For example, in order for some games to be opened, anti-cheat software must also run on Linux. Therefore, even if the launcher arrives, those games may not start until this condition is met.