PC Game Launchers

Steam, Heroic, Lutris, Playnite, GOG Galaxy, Bottles — the apps that hold your library.

Where your PC games actually live. For Steam Deck / SteamOS / Bazzite specifically see Linux / SteamOS / Deck. For DRM-free stores and subscriptions see DRM-free stores & subscriptions. For mods and mod managers see Mods & managers. For ROM launching see ROM management. For developers shipping games to these stores see Game Development.

The 2024–26 reality: Steam owns the PC market but Heroic Games Launcher has won the "everything except Steam, on Linux / Mac / Win" race for Epic / GOG / Amazon Games. Playnite wins the same battle on Windows specifically. Lutris remains the Linux power-user pick for Wine + emulators + native + obscure stores all under one roof.

The default

★ ★ Steam — free client; Win/Mac/Linux. Valve. The PC default. Family Sharing, Remote Play Together, Workshop, Cloud saves, Steam Input (see Controller mapping), Big Picture / Gamescope mode, Proton on Linux (see Linux / SteamOS / Deck). The launcher you use whether you want to or not.

Multi-store launchers (free / OSS)

★ ★ Heroic Games Launcher — GPL-3.0 OSS; Win/Mac/Linux. Native client for Epic Games Store, GOG, and Amazon Games. Cloud saves, DLC, Wine/Proton management on Linux/Mac, Steam Deck-friendly. The default if you have Epic / GOG libraries and don't want to run their first-party launchers. Active dev.
★ ★ Playnite — MIT OSS; Win-only. Aggregates Steam + Epic + GOG + Origin / EA app + Ubisoft Connect + Battle.net + Amazon + itch.io + Xbox PC + emulators into a single library with metadata, themes, plugins. The Windows all-in-one. The Fullscreen mode + a controller turns a desktop into a console.
★ Lutris — GPLv3 OSS; Linux-first. Native installs, Wine prefixes per game, emulator integration, community install scripts for everything from Battle.net to weird old MMOs. The Linux power-user default. Pairs with Bottles for additional Wine UX.
GameVault — AGPLv3 OSS; self-hosted "your own Steam server." Server + clients for Win/Linux. Niche but loved by people who want a private LAN library.
GOG Galaxy 2.0 — free closed (GOG); Win/Mac. Multi-store via community plugins (Steam, Epic, PSN, Xbox Live, etc.). Beautiful UI; plugin ecosystem has cooled in 2024-26.
Junction / RaiderIO-style helpers — niche; community.

First-party closed launchers

Epic Games Launcher — free closed; Win/Mac. Free game every week, Unreal Engine; many users prefer Heroic on top.
EA app (formerly Origin) — free closed; Win/Mac. EA's titles. Routinely buggy; Heroic does not yet replace it.
Ubisoft Connect — free closed; Win/Mac. Ubisoft's titles.
Battle.net — free closed; Win/Mac. Blizzard's titles + Activision integration since the Microsoft acquisition.
Riot Client — free closed; Win/Mac. League / Valorant / TFT. Has anti-cheat that blocks Wine on Linux.
Rockstar Games Launcher — free closed; Win.
Xbox app for PC / Game Pass app — free closed; Win. Required for many Game Pass titles; also serves Microsoft Store games.

Wine / Proton GUIs (Linux / Mac)

★ Bottles — GPLv3 OSS; Linux Flatpak. The polished GUI for managing Wine prefixes, dependencies, runners. Each game gets its own bottle with its own Wine version. Excellent for non-Steam Windows games on Linux.
Lutris — see above; broader scope than Bottles, includes emulators and native installs.
CrossOver — paid (CodeWeavers); Win/Mac/ChromeOS commercial Wine. ~$74/yr or ~$494 lifetime in 2026 pricing. Funds upstream Wine; supported / commercial path.
PortingKit — free Mac; Wine-based wrapper system. CrossOver-shaped but gratis. Limited scope vs CrossOver.
GPTK (Apple Game Porting Toolkit) — free Apple-licensed dev tool; runs unmodified Win games on Apple Silicon Macs via Apple's translation layer. Aimed at devs evaluating Mac ports; enthusiasts use it via Whisky / Game Porting Toolkit GUIs.
Whisky — Mac OSS GUI for Apple's GPTK. Mac D3D12 → Metal translation. Excellent on M1+ for many DX11/12 titles.

Itch.io / indie

itch.io app — MIT OSS; Win/Mac/Linux. itch.io's first-party desktop client. Auto-updates indie games, supports butler upload patches. See also DRM-free stores.

Pick this if…

You want one app, Windows: Playnite.
You want one app, Linux/Mac/Win, free OSS: Heroic for Epic/GOG/Amazon + Steam alongside.
Linux power user who plays weird stuff: Lutris.
Mac, running Win games: Whisky (free) or CrossOver (paid).
Self-hosted "private Steam": GameVault.
You only play Steam: just Steam.