This. I don't use GOG much, primarily because I'm lazy and just want all my games in the same place, but this is still fantastic news! It's one less barrier to ditching Windows as the defacto gaming os. It's also signaling to developers that the market share of users they cut off by explicitly excluding Linux (through kernel anti cheat or however else) is growing.

Of course, The Witcher 4 will work on Linux. Only kernel-level anti cheat and some obscure DRM are still blockers.
If you can buy it on GOG, it's almost guaranteed to work with GE Proton on Linux.

They're never on by default, but you can turn them on for each game that supports it. I've never had trouble!

Only for multiplayer, unless I missed something. It's their biggest glaring omission, but Galaxy is always optional or else their business model falls apart, and I understand that letting the platform take care of the multiplayer was an olive branch developers had been begging for.

See! I kept stating this! Nobody believed me.

Unfortunately, an AI code has already been merged. https://github.com/Heroic-Games-Launcher/HeroicGamesLauncher/pull/4882

I’m not too worried about Linux gaming. I think there’s already enough momentum behind it that it’ll keep growing steadily.

Look at the retro gaming hardware scene (handhelds) and it’s dominated by Linux at the low end and Android at the high end. Windows is a non factor.

Sure it’s important to signal Linux‘s viability for new AAA games or whatever, but I think that market mostly doesn’t care what platform they’re on. They just buy whatever hardware is most convenient for them to play GTA 6 or something.

I for one haven’t played a AAA game released in the last decade.

I can’t stand automatic updates. I tolerate them for my operating system (security issues and all that) but for games they often change stuff I don’t want changed. I’d rather read the patch notes and decide if I’m going to apply the update.

I'm still salty that I can't get the Linux version of Baldur's Gate 3 on GOG because It'S nOt A lInUx VeRsIoN, iT iS a StEaM dEcK vErSiOn.

I don’t have a problem with it as long as it remains optional. So often though it feels like they’re trying to get enough people on the platform and then they can lock ‘em in and start enshittification, knowing they have people hostage to their game libraries.

That seems pretty remote for GOG since they’re all about no DRM, but their website has become more assertive about pushing Galaxy in recent years and that raises my anti- dark pattern hackles.

The wine prefix thing is a legit use. There are other programs that do that for you though. They don’t even require the games to come from any particular source, they’ll work with any games you have (old games on disc, used etc).