Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has confirmed that its launcher will support SteamOS. Communications Director Jake Jones named Valve's Linux-based operating system among the distributions the company plans to support with its upcoming client.
Steam Deck and Steam Machine owners gain the prospect of an official route to their Epic libraries. Users on Valve's hardware have relied on third-party tools such as Heroic Games Launcher to access games purchased through Epic.
SteamOS joins Epic's Linux plans
Epic announced a native Linux client for its store in August. The launcher remains in preview, and SteamOS was not highlighted among its supported distributions when that preview was first introduced.
Jones also named three other Linux distributions in the company's support plans:
- Fedora
- Cachy
- Omarchy
Those names are not an exhaustive list. Epic intends to support other Linux distributions too, extending the scope of its client beyond the operating systems Jones explicitly identified.
Packaging is still being tested and evaluated. Jones addressed questions about distribution formats and said Epic plans to restore AppImage packaging in November. That work concerns how the Linux launcher itself is distributed.
Windows games have a separate requirement: they still need a compatibility layer such as Wine or Proton to run on Linux. A native storefront client does not turn those games into native Linux releases, and Epic has not explained how its launcher will handle that compatibility requirement.
