Epic Games to Ditch Unreal Engine in its Store App and is Working on a Linux Version

The development of the Linux version is part of a much larger overhaul of EGS.

Epic Games has begun developing a native version of the Epic Games Launcher for Linux.

Epic Games has not yet disclosed how Windows games will be launched on Linux. The company has not mentioned the use of Wine, Proton, or other compatibility layers. Therefore, it is currently unknown whether the new launcher will be able to run most Windows games through a built-in compatibility layer, or if initially it will only support projects with a native Linux version.

The appearance of a full-fledged client should significantly simplify life for Linux users. Currently, third-party solutions like Heroic Games Launcher and Lutris are often used to access the Epic Games Store library. However, these may lack some features of the official client, including certain cloud save functionalities, and game compatibility is not guaranteed. Additional problems arise with projects that use anti-cheat.

The development of the Linux version of the Epic Games Launcher is part of a much larger overhaul of the application. Epic Games promises to speed up client loading, update the interface, add user text reviews for games, and implement a number of other changes.

One of the main technical innovations will be the abandonment of Unreal Engine as the basis for the Launcher. The new version is being created using the WebView-framework Tauri, which is designed to work with multiple operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS.