Epic Games Launcher is coming to SteamOS

In October, Epic Games said that it was "investigating" making Fortnite compatible with Valve's Linux-based SteamOS. At the time, Epic Games Launcher was in preview, but SteamOS was not specifically listed as a supported distro. Now, Communications Director Jake Jones has confirmed SteamOS compatibility, along with a handful of other distros, to GamingOnLinux. In response […]

Epic Games is preparing to officially port the game client it developed for the Linux operating system to Valve's SteamOS platform and portable console Steam Deck. While it has been confirmed that the new client, which is in the preview process, will be fully compatible with SteamOS, this development stands out as an important step that will increase the variety of games on the handheld console.

Expanding Linux Support and Packaging Process

Epic Games Communications Director Jake Jones shared the company's expansion plans for the Linux ecosystem in his statement to the GamingOnLinux platform. Stating that the client is still in the preview phase, Jones said; He stated that they aim to provide native support to as many Linux distributions as possible, especially Fedora, SteamOS, Cachy and Omarchy. The developer team, which has carried out extensive tests on distribution and packaging formats, will reintroduce AppImage support, which was temporarily removed in line with the feedback from users, into the system this month. The company continues to evaluate flexible solutions suitable for different distribution structures, as well as .deb packages offered for Debian and Ubuntu.

Steam Deck Ecosystem and Fortnite Uncertainty

The client gaining SteamOS support creates a critical basis for running the productions in the library on Steam Deck without the need for additional tools. On the other hand, uncertainty continues for Fortnite, one of the most awaited productions of the players. The ability to run the popular game natively on the handheld console continues to depend on the provision of the Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) Linux v2 solution. Although Epic Games states that the handheld console does not fully meet the EAC v2 requirements at this stage, it states that technical negotiations with Valve are actively continuing and that this obstacle is aimed to be overcome in the future. The positive outcome of the process will take store competition and accessibility to a new level in the handheld console market.