Yeah, Steam is coming to Linux. We’ve heard that for a while. But the project is gaining some, well, steam (couldn’t avoid that pun) and it looks like the Steam platform should really work well on Linux.
The ever-present issue of course is the commercial aspect of the whole thing. The Linux community by nature is very anti-commercial, yet at the same time wants commercial-like games on their Linux systems.
Greenlight more or less is a fair solution that satisfies both the commercial and non-commercial sides. Game developers can in fact make money by receiving “community support” on whether a specific game should be produced or not. If enough support is received, the game can be produced and the developers can actually make a buck or two.
With Linux, at the end of the day the mob rules. If the mob wants something to go forward, they’re willing to pay for it. If not, the mob will stomp you out of digital existence. That’s pretty much the way things work, so it is smart of Steam to let the mob decide what goes forward and what doesn’t.
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