Jimmy Thomsen from Linos a company which specializes on customizing Ubuntu to suite costumers needs has released a GNU/Linux distribution based on Ubuntu for gamers called Game Drift Linux !
As this distribution has CrossOver Games built-in, it costs $20 for the full version (unless you want the trail that expires after 7 days which costs $4).
Game Drift Linux has finally been released - the perfect GNU/Linux distribution for gamers.
- Support for Windows games (currently more than 1.200 titles - eg. Need for Speed, Counter-Strike, WoW)
- Game Store with free games - one click installation (e.g. Savage 2, Auteria, Stunt Rally)
- Built on the strong foundation of Ubuntu GNU/Linux
Get it today at http://gamedrift.org
More information
We have put a lot of effort into Game Drift Linux to meet our goals:
- Build the best GNU/Linux distribution for gamers
- Provide the biggest amount of quality games for GNU/Linux
- Provide great support for as many Windows games as possible
- Make it as user friendly as possible (no technical obstacles - games are easily accessible and just works)
How did we achieve all that?
- We built our own Game Store which includes only high quality games for GNU/Linux (also commercial games)
- We added support for more than 1.200 Windows games thanks to a great deal with American CodeWeavers
- We built game Drift Linux on a flexible, reliable and stable platform - Ubuntu GNU/Linux
- We applied patches to the software and games to reduce technical obstacles
This is the very first version of Game Drift Linux. We will be adding many more games and keep developing new versions, if the project becomes a success.
I’ve asked Jimmy Thomsen why buy Game Drift Linux and not CrossOver Games and install it manually on Ubuntu, and he answered :
In short: patches and price.
Cross Over won’t work properly on Ubuntu (CodeWeaver is working on a fix, we created our own since we couldn’t wait). Another nice difference is the price – you could download native Ubuntu and buy CrossOver Games for about USD 40 – or just buy the combined package (Game Drift Linux) for half that price.
Many of the GNU/Linux games won’t work properly either without patches.
The Game Store provides a better overview of quality games, and also include commercial games such as Enemy Territory and Savage2.
Game Drift Linux is a “nifty” mix of open source and commercial software.
My major problem with Game Drift Linux is that it’s currently available only in 32-bit, and as I have 8GB of RAM, losing half of it (or using PAE Kernel) is not acceptable for me.
But Jimmy Thomsen said that if Game Drift Linux goes well then he will create a 64-bit version as well.
Trailer
Links
Linos
Game Drift Linux
Supported Games
Game Store
CrossOver Games
Why? These games work fine with wine
Hello Metallizzer.
What games exactly are you refering to? We have added support for more than 1.200 Windows games. Most of them won’t work on the ordinary Wine engine without serious tweaking which is not something most people can do.
Ask you self this question – how much is your time worth? Do you want to spend days hacking your games to make them work, or just pay $20 to get the best possible experience?
well, most people who are not interested in tweaking and modyfying and such use Windows.
As a regular Linux user I tend to uninstall and reinstall often, as well as having multiple Pcs. Do I need to pay for each install, and how difficult is a reinstall?
Oh and it appears your time stamp clock is a bit off….6/11/2011….
Jason: You only pay once 🙂
Reinstalling is quite easy – see this video:
http://gamedrift.org/Help.html#GameDriftInstall
This is excellent. The only reason I have a windows install on my machine is for games. Can’t wait to try this out!
i think this is a genious idea, perfect for ubuntu newbies
Does it support Logitech Gaming Keyboards and Mice?
sounds really good,$19 is a really sweet price,i might take a look at it seeing ive wanted to get most of my steam games working in linux,now if it does most of them then you got a buyer 🙂 im talking games like battlefield 2,crysis,bioshock,etc
i meant battlefield bad company 2
Hello again.
Unfortunately Battlefield Bad Company 2 is not currently supported.
Many of the other versions of Battlefield is supported though.
GDL is currently the Linux Distribution delivering the best possible gaming
experience. We do not support every single Windows game available,
but with more than 1.200 great titles supported out of the box, I’d say you
guys are covered for a couple of days 😉
I hope to welcome many of you as customers, so we can start
working on the next version soon.
Spread the news about GDL on Facebook, Twitter, forums etc.
– Thanks 🙂
Does Game Drift Linux give back to WINE?
Hi SlickMcRunFast.
Game Drift implements commercial (non-free) technology from CodeWeavers which builds on top of Wine. CodeWeavers contribute to the further development of Wine. By using their technology we support the further development of CrossOver Games, and by that the further development of Wine.
Jimmy : I’m not sure to understand something. Game Drift does implement Crossover, but do you actually pay a licence / give some money back to them or do you just use their code ?
Hi T_U.
Natually I’m cooperating with Codeweavers to bring you this great offer.
Cross Over specific support is actually handled by Codeweavers – so it’s as real as it gets 🙂
New review now available from Linux User & Developer:
http://www.linuxuser.co.uk/reviews/game-drift-linux/
Why does everyone with 32 bit get theirs and we 64 bit users have to wait for them to make it popular enough that we can get a versoin? Does that make sense? This is for gaming right? arent 64 bit rigs superior for gaming? Am I just brainswashed by bigger numbers? I really appreciate the fact that somebody is finally getting around to doing this but lack of 64 bit support in my opinion is broken.
I own most of my games through steam I would love this if it has steam support also origin