Heroic Games Launchervs
Epic Games Store
Epic Games Store: If you are on Windows and only want Epic titles, the official client needs no third-party layer
Heroic Games Launcher
Open source client for Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries on Linux, Windows and macOS
As of 31 August 2026, Heroic Games Launcher is free to use. Heroic exists because Epic ships no Linux client. Softwr lists it under Gaming. Heroic Games Launcher is available on Linux, Windows, macOS.
Overview
What Heroic Games Launcher does
Heroic Games Launcher is a desktop application that logs into Epic Games Store, GOG and Amazon Games accounts, installs and updates titles, manages Wine and Proton builds for non-native games, and handles cloud saves where the store supports it. It runs on Linux, Windows and macOS and is packaged for Steam Deck, where it has become the usual route to non-Steam libraries. The project exists because of a gap the storefronts left. Epic has never published a Linux client, so Heroic wraps community command line tools that speak to the store APIs directly. That gives Linux and Steam Deck users their purchased libraries, and it makes the whole application dependent on interfaces Epic, GOG and Amazon neither document nor promise to keep stable. When a store changes authentication, logins break for everyone until the underlying tool is updated, and no contract or support agreement exists to make that happen faster. Users are Steam Deck owners with Epic or Amazon libraries, Linux desktop players and, increasingly, people on Windows and macOS who want one client instead of three. The trade-off is dependency without recourse: the software is free, the maintainers are volunteers, and the stores it talks to have no obligation to keep it working.
What people use it for
- A Steam Deck owner who wants to play Epic or Amazon titles they already own
- A Linux desktop user with a GOG library and no interest in configuring Wine by hand
- A macOS user wanting access to a GOG library without a Windows machine
- Someone consolidating three storefront clients into one interface on Windows
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Heroic Games Launcher.
- It depends on reverse-engineered backends for each store, so an authentication change at Epic or Amazon breaks logins until unpaid maintainers respond.
- It does not handle Steam, so anyone with a mixed library still runs two clients and the consolidation is partial.
- Cloud save support varies by store and by game, and finding out that a title does not sync usually happens after losing progress.
- It is an Electron application, so memory use is high for what is fundamentally a list of games, which matters on a handheld with limited resources.
- Games protected by kernel-level anti-cheat still do not run on Linux, and the launcher cannot change a publisher decision.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Heroic Games Launcher
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Heroic Games LaunchervsGOG
GOG: If your library is mainly DRM-free, the official offering already gives you installers that run without a launcher
- Heroic Games LaunchervsSteam
Steam: If you would rather buy on the store whose Linux and handheld support is first-party rather than reverse-engineered
Pricing
What Heroic Games Launcher costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Heroic Games Launcher
Free
- Full functionality
- No paid tier
- Store accounts used directly
- Community support
Capabilities
Features
Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries
Purchased titles from three stores installed and updated from one client
Cross-platform
Linux, Windows and macOS builds from the same project
Wine and Proton management
Compatibility layer versions selected per game on Linux and macOS
Steam Deck packaging
Available through the Deck software store and usable in game mode
Cloud saves
Save synchronisation where the underlying store exposes it
Add to Steam
Games added as non-Steam shortcuts so they appear in the Deck interface
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Why does this exist when Epic has its own launcher?
Epic publishes no Linux client. Heroic fills that gap and then extended to GOG, Amazon, Windows and macOS.
Is it safe to log into my store accounts?
It is open source and widely used, and it authenticates against the real store endpoints. As with any third-party client, you are trusting the maintainers and the build you installed.
Does it work in Steam Deck game mode?
Yes, generally by adding titles to Steam as non-Steam shortcuts, which is a documented part of the normal workflow.
Keep looking
Where to go from Heroic Games Launcher
- Heroic Games Launcher alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Heroic Games Launcher pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Heroic Games Launcher badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Gaming softwareThe full category
- Best Gaming softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
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Compare Heroic Games Launcher with
- GOG
- Steam
- Epic Games Store
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- Shadow PC
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Heroic Games Launcher, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
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