Epic has confirmed that Epic Games Store Linux support is in the works, but release timing, SteamOS targeting, launcher features, and game compatibility remain open questions.
Image: steamdeckhq.com
Epic’s Linux launcher is real, but the first build is not imminent
Epic Games has confirmed that official Linux support for the Epic Games Store is coming, according to reports from GamingOnLinux, Steam Deck HQ, VideoCardz, PC Guide, and others covering an AMA held in the Epic Games Store community Discord. The confirmation came from Epic staff member @onepercentnachos after a user asked whether there were new plans for a Linux version of the launcher. The answer, as reported by those outlets, was that Linux support is coming “soon.”
The tension is in the second half of that same answer. The Epic staffer also said the Linux version will not be part of the upcoming preview release for Epic’s redesigned store client, because supporting Linux requires more work than producing a dedicated Linux build. That makes this a confirmed direction of travel, not a dated launch announcement.
For Linux and Steam Deck users, that distinction matters. The Epic Games Store Linux news answers one long-running question, namely whether Epic intends to offer a first-party path at all. It does not yet answer the questions that determine whether the launcher will become an everyday tool on SteamOS, a broader desktop Linux client, or a foundation for deeper game support.
The current Epic Games Store Steam Deck route is still community-built
Until Epic ships its own client, Steam Deck and desktop Linux players remain dependent on third-party launchers and compatibility layers. Steam Deck HQ notes that users typically reach Epic Games Store and GOG libraries through community-made tools such as Heroic Games Launcher. VideoCardz similarly reports that Linux users currently use software like Heroic to install Windows versions of Epic games and run them through Wine or Proton.
That workaround ecosystem is valuable, but it is also a sign of the gap Epic is now preparing to address. A first-party Epic Games Launcher Linux client could reduce the number of handoffs between account login, store access, library management, installation, compatibility configuration, and game updates. Steam Deck HQ frames the appeal practically: many players have years of weekly free Epic games sitting in their libraries, but accessing them on Valve’s handheld is still less direct than opening Steam.
The strategic point is simple. A Linux gaming launcher from Epic would not need to replace Heroic overnight to change behavior. It would give developers and players an official target, which is different from asking the community to keep smoothing over the edges of a Windows-first client. GamingOnLinux makes that argument directly, saying official support signals to developers and players that Linux is being treated as a proper gaming platform.
“Soon” does not mean a release date, and the preview build will miss Linux
Epic has not announced a release date, rollout window, supported distributions, installer format, or Steam Deck verification plan for the Linux client. The only timing language reported from the Discord AMA is “soon,” and multiple outlets emphasize that the coming Linux version is excluded from the next preview build of the redesigned Epic Games Store.
That preview build is its own important context. VideoCardz notes that Epic recently announced a storefront redesign, but Linux support was not mentioned in that redesign announcement. Tbreak describes the preview as part of a launcher rebuild Epic has been teasing, including faster startup claims, but also says Linux support will not be included there. The practical reading is that Epic is not simply flipping a platform switch inside the upcoming preview.
The reported explanation from Epic, that Linux support needs more than a dedicated native build, is the most important technical clue in the story. A store launcher is an account system, a commerce front end, a download manager, a library database, a patching pipeline, an entitlement checker, a social layer, and a bridge into game runtime environments. On Steam Deck, it also has to coexist with SteamOS expectations around controls, overlays, full-screen navigation, storage paths, and suspend behavior. Epic has not detailed which of those pieces are in scope, so readers should treat “soon” as confirmation of intent rather than a countdown.
SteamOS support is implied by the audience, but not fully specified
GamingOnLinux describes the confirmation as a Linux and SteamOS version of the Epic Games Store, while VideoCardz cautions that Epic has not confirmed whether the Linux version will target SteamOS specifically or which distributions will be supported. That is not necessarily a contradiction. SteamOS is the Linux environment most visible to gaming audiences because of the Steam Deck, but “Linux support” can mean very different things depending on packaging, testing, and user interface priorities.
For Steam Deck owners, the ideal outcome is a client that behaves like a handheld application rather than a desktop utility that happens to launch. Steam Deck HQ’s coverage focuses on smoother access and better accessibility for Epic libraries on the device. PC Guide similarly points to the possibility of removing the need for third-party launchers on platforms such as Steam Deck, while noting that Epic has not provided a firm timeline.
The unanswered platform question is therefore larger than whether the launcher starts on Linux. Will Epic test against SteamOS? Will it provide a controller-friendly mode? Will it integrate cleanly with game mode on Steam Deck? Will it expose installation and update behavior in a way that works with removable storage and the Deck’s interface? None of that has been confirmed in the source material. The confirmed fact is that Epic is working on Linux support for the store. The Steam Deck version players want is still an expectation built from the market, not a specification from Epic.
A Linux store client does not guarantee Fortnite or every Epic game
The biggest compatibility trap is assuming that an Epic Games Store on Linux automatically makes Epic’s catalog playable on Linux. The sources are clear that this has not been confirmed. VideoCardz reports that the announcement does not mean games such as Fortnite will automatically become playable on Steam Deck, because individual titles may still require Linux-compatible anti-cheat support. Steam Deck HQ says a native launcher could pave the way for possible support for other Epic games, including Fortnite, but calls that far from guaranteed.
GamingOnLinux adds relevant history here. The outlet points back to Epic’s earlier position that Fortnite on Linux and Steam Deck was still waiting on a much larger user base, phrased in its prior coverage as “tens of millions of users.” In the new report, GamingOnLinux says users can still rely on the officially supported GeForce NOW app for Fortnite until native support changes.
There is one adjacent signal worth separating from the AMA itself. GamingOnLinux previously reported that Epic was hiring a Security Engineer to “champion Linux anti-cheat,” and Tbreak also points to that job posting in the context of Fortnite and Easy Anti-Cheat. That hiring signal suggests Epic is looking at Linux anti-cheat work, but it is not a Fortnite announcement and it is not a compatibility list for the future store client. For now, the safest expectation is that the launcher and the games remain separate layers. Store access may improve before the toughest multiplayer titles become playable.
Epic is moving as other PC storefronts reassess Linux
Epic is not the only storefront operator being pulled toward Linux by the Steam Deck era. GamingOnLinux says GOG confirmed to the outlet that work is in progress on a Linux version of GOG Galaxy. Steam Deck HQ also notes that GOG is in the process of creating a native Linux version of its storefront. PC Guide cites GOG’s own framing of that kind of work as a significant undertaking.
That parallel matters because launchers are now part of platform strategy. Steam already owns the most complete Linux gaming funnel through SteamOS, Proton, the Deck interface, and store-level discoverability. Epic and GOG have large PC libraries, but on Linux their storefronts have relied heavily on community bridges. If both companies are now building official clients, the competitive baseline changes from “can users make this work” to “how much support does the store owner provide.”
From a long-term strategy view, Epic has a clear incentive to make its library easier to use where PC players are spending time. Weekly free games have built enormous libraries for many users, but a claimed game has less value if it is inconvenient to install on the device in your hands. A native Epic Games Store Linux client would make those entitlements more visible on Steam Deck and Linux desktops. The remaining question is whether Epic treats Linux as a storefront access problem, a full platform support problem, or a staged path from one to the other.
What Linux and Steam Deck users should do now
There is no action required yet. Epic has not opened downloads, announced a beta, listed supported Linux distributions, published SteamOS instructions, or said which store features will be present at launch. If you already use Heroic Games Launcher, Lutris, Wine, or Proton to access Epic titles on Linux, the source material gives no reason to uninstall those tools today.
The useful move is to set expectations correctly. Epic Games Store Linux support is confirmed as coming by an Epic staff member in the official community Discord, as reported by several outlets. It is not coming in the upcoming preview build. It has no release date. It has no public compatibility list. It does not confirm Fortnite on Steam Deck. It does not yet tell us whether the Epic Games Launcher Linux release will feel native on SteamOS or simply run on Linux desktops.
Still, this is a real shift. The best-case version gives Steam Deck owners a direct way into Epic’s storefront, library, and free-game program without a third-party launcher. The cautious version is a first release that solves account and download access first, then leaves game compatibility, anti-cheat, controller UX, and SteamOS polish to later updates. Until Epic publishes those details, the smart read is optimistic but conditional: the door to Epic Games Store on Linux is now open, but we do not yet know how wide Epic plans to push it.