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Hey there, I work in the Linux gaming space. Epic and Tim Sweeney are not hostile towards Linux. The worst you can say is they're indifferent (and can you blame

Hey there, I work in the Linux gaming space. Epic and Tim Sweeney are not hostile towards Linux. The worst you can say is they're indifferent (and can you blame them, given the size of that market?), but even that is not true. Epic's game engine supports Linux. Could they do more to support Linux gaming? Sure. But that's not the same as being "incredibly hostile."

skeeterbug 6y ago
Epic purchased Rocket League developer Psyonix and ended Linux support for the game shortly after: https://www.rocketleague.com/news/ending-support-for-mac-and-linux/ https://www.rocketleague.com/news/ending-support-for-mac-and...
- coldpie 6y ago
  Also macOS[1]. It was part of their upgrade to use a newer DirectX version[2]. Rather than maintain two renderers, they chose to end support for OSes which don't have DirectX support. If it costs more to maintain support for a platform than that support brings in, why would they do it? [1] https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042201433 https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042201... [2] https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043307733-DirectX-11 https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043307...
  - dx87 6y ago
    The main reason they should support it is because people paid money for a Linux version.
    - ksec 6y ago
      And they were refunded? ( Even after thousands hours of Game Play Entertainment Hours )
  - kec 6y ago
    If that were the real reason, why is rocket league still available on both the ps4 and Nintendo switch?
    - gruez 6y ago
      presumably because those platforms have way more users than linux?
      - wayneftw 6y ago
        Yeah, not only that but Linux users are known to be hostile to commercial software companies. Given that, the microscopic market, and the additional programming complexity I don't see a reason why any game company should go out of their way to support Linux ever. (As a Linux desktop user, I'm thankful when they do though. I'm so glad that Beyond Compare from Scooter Software works on my main workstation, for instance. Also Zoom, Slack and VS Code among others... Looking forward to trying MS Edge some day soon.)
brnt 6y ago
No Epic Store in Linux. Repeatedly stated they've no plans to. Meanwhile, Steam is doubling down with Proton. Since Proton, I don't have a Windows partition around anymore, it just works for an enormous number of titles.
- coldpie 6y ago
  Choosing not to support a platform which may not be profitable is not "incredibly hostile." Don't forget when calculating profitability that you also have to account for opportunity cost: the devs you hire to work on Linux could instead be working on improving your fledgling client for the much more profitable Windows platform. Valve is already over that hurdle with Steam, so their profitability calculations will be different. You can't draw a direct comparison. Like I said, I work on Linux. Trust me when I say there's a lot of very good reasons not to support it that have nothing to do with one's personal opinions of the platform, or whatever it is the OP meant by "incredibly hostile."
- 013a 6y ago
  That's not hostile; that's indifferent.
- nvrspyx 6y ago
  Ignoring Linux != Hostile to Linux Just because they don't want to build for and support a relatively tiny platform does not mean that they're hostile toward that platform. They support it in other ways via their game engine. Steam, on the other hand, has a vested interest in supporting Linux due to SteamOS, which they hope to pursue again in the future. Just because Valve has a lot of goodwill in supporting Linux, even though Proton hasn't really affected Linux's market share in gaming, does not mean everyone else is actively hostile toward it.

skeeterbug 6y ago

Epic purchased Rocket League developer Psyonix and ended Linux support for the game shortly after: https://www.rocketleague.com/news/ending-support-for-mac-and-linux/ https://www.rocketleague.com/news/ending-support-for-mac-and...

coldpie 6y ago
Also macOS[1]. It was part of their upgrade to use a newer DirectX version[2]. Rather than maintain two renderers, they chose to end support for OSes which don't have DirectX support. If it costs more to maintain support for a platform than that support brings in, why would they do it? [1] https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042201433 https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360042201... [2] https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043307733-DirectX-11 https://support.rocketleague.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043307...
- dx87 6y ago
  The main reason they should support it is because people paid money for a Linux version.
  - ksec 6y ago
    And they were refunded? ( Even after thousands hours of Game Play Entertainment Hours )
- kec 6y ago
  If that were the real reason, why is rocket league still available on both the ps4 and Nintendo switch?
  - gruez 6y ago
    presumably because those platforms have way more users than linux?
    - wayneftw 6y ago
      Yeah, not only that but Linux users are known to be hostile to commercial software companies. Given that, the microscopic market, and the additional programming complexity I don't see a reason why any game company should go out of their way to support Linux ever. (As a Linux desktop user, I'm thankful when they do though. I'm so glad that Beyond Compare from Scooter Software works on my main workstation, for instance. Also Zoom, Slack and VS Code among others... Looking forward to trying MS Edge some day soon.)

brnt 6y ago

No Epic Store in Linux. Repeatedly stated they've no plans to. Meanwhile, Steam is doubling down with Proton. Since Proton, I don't have a Windows partition around anymore, it just works for an enormous number of titles.

coldpie 6y ago
Choosing not to support a platform which may not be profitable is not "incredibly hostile." Don't forget when calculating profitability that you also have to account for opportunity cost: the devs you hire to work on Linux could instead be working on improving your fledgling client for the much more profitable Windows platform. Valve is already over that hurdle with Steam, so their profitability calculations will be different. You can't draw a direct comparison. Like I said, I work on Linux. Trust me when I say there's a lot of very good reasons not to support it that have nothing to do with one's personal opinions of the platform, or whatever it is the OP meant by "incredibly hostile."
013a 6y ago
That's not hostile; that's indifferent.
nvrspyx 6y ago
Ignoring Linux != Hostile to Linux Just because they don't want to build for and support a relatively tiny platform does not mean that they're hostile toward that platform. They support it in other ways via their game engine. Steam, on the other hand, has a vested interest in supporting Linux due to SteamOS, which they hope to pursue again in the future. Just because Valve has a lot of goodwill in supporting Linux, even though Proton hasn't really affected Linux's market share in gaming, does not mean everyone else is actively hostile toward it.