GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client • Hacker News Board

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#211

Post by pjmlp » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:00 PM UTC

Shorel wrote: post #196

pjmlp wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nothing to save as long as it relies on game studios using Windows workstations, coding in Visual Studio and targeting DirectX. The goal has to be to make native Linux attractive, so that they actually bother to create native executables, using Vulkan and co. Until then it is no different from playing arcade games with MAME on Linux.

The most stable Linux API is Wine/Win32. There are many older games I can't install on Linux anymore, because they used an older SDL1 or some particular X11 version or some GPU driver that's no longer available for the current kernel. The exact same game, Windows version, can be installed and runs flawlessly on both Linux and Windows. So, native Vulkan executables? Sure, if they can continue to run in 20 years.

Just like for OS/2, what a great success it was.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#212

Post by pjmlp » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:01 PM UTC

nialv7 wrote: post #208

pjmlp wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nothing to save as long as it relies on game studios using Windows workstations, coding in Visual Studio and targeting DirectX. The goal has to be to make native Linux attractive, so that they actually bother to create native executables, using Vulkan and co. Until then it is no different from playing arcade games with MAME on Linux.

nothing stopping them from developing on Linux workstations, cross-compiling to Windows, and testing with Wine/Proton. saves them Windows license fees too.

The incentives are not there, as it is, they work as usual, and Valve is the one that has to make it work.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#213

Post by the8472 » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:04 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #173

emsign wrote: post #14

I'm very hopeful that Linux gaming will save the open PC desktop despite big tech is coming to destroy it. Or at least keep PCs alive for another decade. Gamers are still a huge factor as hardware customers. GOG creating a Linux launcher and Steam Box with SteamOS coming out soon should benefit PC users in general not just gamers since Microslop sees Windows like a social experiment where they can test AI on unsuspec…

There is nothing to save as long as it relies on game studios using Windows workstations, coding in Visual Studio and targeting DirectX. The goal has to be to make native Linux attractive, so that they actually bother to create native executables, using Vulkan and co. Until then it is no different from playing arcade games with MAME on Linux.

UE can be crosscompiled on a windows host to linux and then it's a few checkboxes to enable the vulkan RHI.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#214

Post by seabrookmx » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:05 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #190

ecshafer wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Targeting DirectX and Win32 has become targeting Linux with how good Wine/Proton have gotten. I am able to play brand new games with no Linux support absolutely perfectly through proton. These games run better than games that had linux support actually ran on linux.

Thus making Linux irrelevant as target to game studios. For them DirectX and Win32 is what matters, if folks go out of their way to run on Proton, that is Valve's problem.

You're assuming no game studio would test their windows executable on proton, just because they develop on Windows. If there's non-trivial market share to capture by being "Deck verified" I don't see why that would be the case. Game devs develop on Windows for PlayStation, Switch, mobile etc. At least with proton they don't even need to cross compile.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#215

Post by luqtas » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #202

nottorp wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing is, you don't need a GPU. One of the major x86 manufacturers makes CPUs with integrated graphics that is good enough for gaming. It's in "Steam's hardware line" btw. Oh yes, AAAs maybe won't run on that. But they're boring af anyway. And predatory. So not much loss.

> Thing is, you don't need a GPU. You would struggle to play any graphically intensive game, old or new, without at least a modest GPU. It's not only AAA.

modern igpus of laptops can run cyberpunk between 24-30 fps... if you target indies, your more than good

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#216

Post by bastardoperator » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:10 PM UTC

orbital-decay wrote: post #109

emsign wrote: post #14

I'm very hopeful that Linux gaming will save the open PC desktop despite big tech is coming to destroy it. Or at least keep PCs alive for another decade. Gamers are still a huge factor as hardware customers. GOG creating a Linux launcher and Steam Box with SteamOS coming out soon should benefit PC users in general not just gamers since Microslop sees Windows like a social experiment where they can test AI on unsuspec…

Most gamers don't give a shit about openness. A much more likely outcome is "big tech" following the numbers and slowly making Linux unusable by using EEE or any other tactic under the pretense of usefulness.

Until it fully supports multiplayer which doesn't seem to be a thing for any major game or studio, it's a nothingburger for the majority of people.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#217

Post by elsjaako » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:11 PM UTC

Borealid wrote: post #65

elsjaako wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we have DRM with some private key, then I guess your idea is I download the game files and some private key and that allows me to run the game. If I can send you the private key and the game and it allows you to run the game with no further inputs, then the DRM is trivially broken (even without open source). If it does some online check, then if the source is open we can easily make a version that bypasses the onl…

How would you define it if: - the DRM/delivery software is open source - the game payload is sent to you encrypted using the public key of a secure enclave on your computer - while the game runs all its memory is symmetrically encrypted (by your own CPU) using a key private to that secure enclave. It is only decrypted in the CPU's cache lines, which are flushed when the core runs anything other than the game (even OS…

I don't know about how secure enclaves work, so this may be a solution I'm not aware of. Thank you for explaining!

So I guess the whole game software, or at least a significant part, is loaded encrypted and runs encrypted. It's on the users hardware but the user can't access it.

The only thing I can think of: You say the game payload is encrypted using the public key of a secure enclave. This means the open source game launcher has to pass the public key to the server doing the encryption. Could you not supply a fake public key that goes to a virtual secure enclave? I guess the public key could be signed by intel or something, is that something that happens on current TPMs?

Would it even be possible to do this if the program had to run under Proton/Wine? The original subject here is the launcher running on Linux.

I do wander about the use of an open source launcher at this point though. As someone who prefers open source software, the idea of encrypted software running on my PC makes me uncomfortable, more than just closed source software.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#218

Post by pluralmonad » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:12 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #175

wlesieutre wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They don't care about it as an abstract idea, but they do notice that Windows 11 is worse than Windows 10 was worse than Windows 8 was worse than Windows 7. I'm not saying there have been zero useful improvements in later Windows releases, but 7 looked good and did what you told it to. "Openness" is a very abstract idea but "Only does what you tell it to" is a selling point for Linux. You know it's not going to uploa…

Yes, but when they go out creating that aquarium PC tower with rainbow lights, they will install W11 Pro as usual.

I feel like that makes sense. Linux users are messing with all the control given to them in software by a free OS, while windows user get only what they're allowed in software and Microsoft has not figured out how to keep them from modifying their hardware... yet. So the flashy LED folks are making their modifications where still allowed.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#219

Post by jurf » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:13 PM UTC

Finally. It was the reason I was always reluctant to buy something from GOG.

Re: GOG: Linux "the next major frontier" for gaming as it works on a native client

#220

Post by darthcircuit » Fri, Jan 30, 2026, 4:13 PM UTC

drnick1 wrote: post #198

ekianjo wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don't think this is a given This is a given. They love Discord and shit like that.

Yes if gamers truly cared about openness and absence of corporate control, they would move to self-hosted Matrix channels.

I actually did selfhost my own matrix server to communicate with my friends while gaming. Works great on my steamdeck and I’ve got bazzite on my laptop. Most games I’m interested in work great on Linux and anything that doesn’t I just don’t play. There are so many games that do work great, but I can see people skipping Linux because of fomo.