GOG turned 18 this week, and it spent its first-ever Showcase handing out gifts, including the one Linux gamers have been requesting for over a decade: GOG Galaxy is officially coming to Linux in 2027.
The announcement came as part of a wider client overhaul. GOG says the new Galaxy will be simpler and faster, with cleaner ways to view your library on Windows and Mac as well. The company’s core promise is untouched: Galaxy remains entirely optional, and every game stays downloadable through offline installers, exactly as it has always been.
For Steam Deck and Linux handheld owners, this is a bigger deal than it might look. GOG’s DRM-free catalog is basically tailor-made for portable play, but playing it has meant leaning on excellent third-party tools like Heroic. An official client means GOG itself is finally showing up on the platform where a growing chunk of that library actually gets played. We’ve watched front-ends like Playnite slowly make their way to Linux; the store itself arriving is the better outcome.
The rest of the Showcase is worth knowing about, too. GOG Social, a community hub built around threaded game talk with spoiler tags and no algorithmic noise, opened closed beta signups. The company also detailed its restoration of Wing Commander: Prophecy alongside a stack of EA Anniversary Editions, and even stepped into indie publishing with Retrovibe.
None of this is out of character. GOG’s whole pitch for 18 years has been that games should be yours to keep, and an official Linux client fits that ethos nicely: your library shouldn’t depend on which operating system the store feels like supporting this year. A closed beta for the new Galaxy client is on the way, and you can sign up with just an email on GOG’s anniversary page to be notified when it opens. There’s no date beyond 2027 for now, but after years of asking, Linux users finally have an answer that isn’t “use the website and good luck.”
Source: Steam Deck HQ
