Linux News

Epic Games has released a preview of its new launcher for the Epic Games Store on Linux, developed with heavy use of AI coding agents, an approach described as 'vibe coding'. The company reportedly also plans to port Fortnite to Linux. Commenters note the surprise, as official Epic support for Linux has long been limited, and debate the role of AI in making the port feasible.

The KDE project has announced the release of Plasma 6.8, timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the community. The update to the popular Linux desktop environment lands as a celebratory milestone for the open-source project. Linux users and developers are sharing the news and discussing what the new version brings to the desktop.

A new service called PlanetFOSS has launched, collecting Linux and free and open-source software news from community sources in a magazine-style format. Available in German and English, it groups coverage of the same topic together and shows only headlines, teaser text and an image, linking readers to the original source. The project says it uses no cookies and emphasises privacy-friendly design.

AMD has released FSR upscaling version 4.1, broadening support beyond recent graphics cards to older desktops, laptops, handhelds, consoles and the Vulkan API. Gamers on Linux and lower-end devices are highlighting the update as it makes the upscaling technology usable on far more systems, including portable gaming handhelds where performance gains matter most.

MBHaxe, an open-source recreation of the classic puzzle game Marble Blast Ultra, has been released in version 1.3.2. The project revives the marble-rolling game originally popular on Xbox 360, offering multiplayer support and a native Linux version. Linux gaming communities are picking up the news, with interest focused on how faithfully the remake captures the original's levels and feel.

Epic Games has released a native preview of the Epic Games Launcher for Linux, and confirmed that Fortnite is coming to the platform alongside an upgraded Easy Anti-Cheat that works there. It marks a major shift for a title long unavailable on Linux due to anti-cheat barriers, and Linux gamers are welcoming the news.

A developer has released a community-built tool bringing Proton Drive support to Linux, filling a gap left by Proton's lack of an official client for the operating system. The project integrates the encrypted cloud storage service with the Linux filesystem, and it is drawing attention on Hacker News, where users are discussing the workaround and Proton's platform priorities.

The open-source office suite Euro-Office is now available as a desktop application, combining text, spreadsheet, presentation and PDF editors in a single program for Windows, macOS and Linux. The editors can also be connected to a Nextcloud instance. The announcement is drawing interest in open-source software circles.

The Linux Professional Institute has released Linux Essentials 2.0, a major update to its entry-level Linux certificate. The revision brings revised exam objectives, refreshed learning materials, and new topics reflecting modern Linux environments. The announcement is drawing attention from Linux users and educators following certification news.

Noctalia 5.3, a shell for the Wayland compositor, has been released with a redesigned app launcher, expanded customization options for the bar and dock, improved lock screen features, and numerous bug fixes. Linux users and open-source watchers are sharing news of the update, which refines an increasingly popular desktop customization project.

Developer watzon has released Sayso, a free and open source dictation application that works across Mac, Windows, and Linux. The tool, hosted on GitHub, is being presented to the Hacker News community as a Show HN project, where it is drawing early attention and engagement from users interested in free speech-to-text alternatives.

Developers announced they have written a Linux camera driver for the iPhone 11, meaning the phone's camera hardware can now be used on a mainline Linux system. The news was shared with links to demonstration clips and tagged with iPhone Linux and cyberdeck topics. The achievement matters because camera support has long been one of the hardest missing pieces in running Linux on Apple smartphones.

A new server-class RISC-V processor featuring 46 cores has been shown running mainstream Linux, marking a step forward for the open ISA's push into datacenter-grade hardware. The news is being shared among open-source and hardware enthusiasts, who see RISC-V chips increasingly competing with established x86 and Arm server processors.

RetroHub, a game collection presented in the style of an interactive TV terminal, has been released on Steam. The retro-themed title is drawing attention in Linux and retro gaming circles, where it is being shared alongside tags for Linux gaming, pixel art and arcade nostalgia.

A new Communications Specialist has started work at the GNOME Foundation, announcing the first day on the job with enthusiasm. GNOME, a major free and open-source desktop project for Linux, drew congratulations from the community, with well-wishers cheering on the hire as a positive step for the foundation's outreach and communication efforts.

The GNOME project has announced improvements to fingerprint management in GNOME 51, making it easier to add, remove and store multiple fingerprints on Linux systems equipped with a fingerprint reader. The redesign applies to desktop and laptop hardware, not just smartphones, and the announcement is drawing attention from open-source users interested in the desktop environment's usability updates.

The Linux desktop has reportedly reached 5% market share, according to a Linux news roundup that also looks back at X11 desktops running on Wayland. The milestone is being discussed alongside other Linux community news, as open-source enthusiasts debate whether the 5% mark signals real mainstream momentum for desktop Linux after years of slow growth.

Canonical has released Myna, a new speech-to-text application for Ubuntu, as an early technology preview. The app lets users convert spoken audio into text on the Linux desktop, though its feature set is not yet final. Open-source enthusiasts are sharing the news, with many welcoming the addition of built-in speech recognition tooling to the Ubuntu ecosystem and awaiting further development.

A new build of Proton-CachyOS, version 11.0-20261014, has been released. The project provides a custom Proton fork based on Wine and Vulkan, used to run Windows games on Linux systems including CachyOS. Linux gaming communities are sharing news of the update, which brings the latest compatibility and performance fixes to Steam users on Linux.