Epic Games has confirmed that its upcoming native Linux launcher will officially support SteamOS, opening a more direct route to Epic Games Store libraries on Valve’s handheld-focused platform. The change does not mean Fortnite will automatically become playable on Steam Deck.
Jake Jones, Epic Games’ director of communications, told GamingOnLinux that the launcher is planned to support the following Linux distributions:
- SteamOS
- Fedora
- Cachy
- Omarchy
Epic first outlined plans for a native Linux launcher in August and released an early version in October, but SteamOS was not initially listed as an officially supported platform. The software remains in testing, while Epic evaluates installation formats. AppImage support was expected to return in November after a period in which .deb packages were offered for Debian and Ubuntu.
Steam Deck owners currently often use third-party tools such as Heroic Games Launcher to reach their Epic libraries. Official launcher support should reduce that dependency, although it will not ensure that every Epic title works: some games may still need compatibility layers including Wine or Proton.
Fortnite remains the major exception. Certain requirements of Easy Anti-Cheat v2 are not met by Steam Deck, according to Epic’s previous statements. Epic has said it is discussing a solution with Valve, but neither a concrete breakthrough for Fortnite nor a release date for SteamOS support has been publicly announced.
