As much as i hate the pointless Linux fragmentation, I think them going down the path of steam/heroic games launcher and releasing one appimage/.deb file and letting others take on the burden for their distros should do.

I mean, the main issue with portability is the insistance on dynamic linking, far more than the distro situation.

If you use Linux like MacOS and only run static binaries and containerized programs via things like flatpak everything is fine.

It's totally possible to treat the distro simply as a thin base layer and get everything else from flatpak and the various container hubs. It does work great.

Said absolutely nothing about obligation, raising the same decades-long observation. The users will see strife [and joy], considering Heroic does decently but this will be advantaged. That's it. Forgive me if I don't want to go over it again.

Disagree, but that's fine. Only so many users, attention, etc. Heroic will probably see degradation.

They're entirely welcome to do this, I just think there's room for more opportunity with combined/open effort. Idealistic? Sure.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that doing nothing remains an option.

Like I'm not aware and it's sunshine/rainbows, actually. Competition in the GOG launcher space, huzzah. To the detriment of One Launcher To Rule Them All.

To be clear: I'm for a first party solution. I support their efforts as much as I can. It will have considerable impact on the users. Both ways.

Guess what has been serving those gamers, actually I'll be kind: Heroic.

Let me know when you finish with your 90000th spin of Debian. I'll be over here playing w/ Heroic

The impression I've had for a long while now is that just as the software side is fragmented so is the userbase in what they want, including a segment that want one true way and all that fragmentation to go away. The trouble I see with catering to all that variation is it's putting an onus for more work on the developer (which needs funding from somewhere, most likely the publisher) and while linux (and GOG) is a niche market in the present and near term it doesn't seem like a winning proposition.

There's definitely a desire for an appliance/console like experience where all the complexity is hidden behind install/play buttons, and steam has got most of the way there. As protondb shows that can't go all the way and tweaking is needed owing to the shifting PC compatibility in general and running software from one OS on a different one, it's the nature of the beast. Personally pushing towards monoculture on an open platform needs to be tempered, and there's a lot of debate previously for other places where that's relevant.

... and I'm concurring with the threadstarter. They could do nothing, donate to Heroic, or this. I'm not invested in this, just raised a keyword.

The arguments are tired, the word serves us well. They insist, yes, and forever remain hopeful that This Might Be the Year. Meanwhile, the reality exists for plenty already.

So many replies. Hello everyone. Beats me, just commenting as someone who won't pivot to the new thing. Outcomes matter, etc.

Supporting Heroic would appear on-brand given their old game/archival messaging, but I'm not learning marketing for free.

Not really against a first-party option, even. I do, however, find the inevitable user split notable.