Steam is still the biggest PC game store by a wide margin, but 2026 has pushed a lot of players to think more carefully about where they buy and launch games. The Steam Deck price increase that Valve confirmed earlier this year, combined with Eurogamer’s reporting on the uncertainty around Valve’s hardware roadmap, reminded people that Valve makes its own bets, and those bets do not always favour the buyer. Add recurring complaints about Steam’s cluttered interface, the lack of a clean subscription offering, and the way it handles DRM, and there is a real case for spreading your library across more than one launcher.
This article covers seven Steam alternatives for PC. Each one does something meaningfully different, from weekly free games to DRM-free ownership to open-source Linux support. We cover Epic Games Store, GOG Galaxy, EA App, Ubisoft Connect, Battle.net, Itch.io, and Heroic Games Launcher.
Quick comparison
| Launcher | Best for | Free games | Subscription | Windows | macOS | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epic Games Store | Free weekly games + exclusives | Yes, weekly | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| GOG Galaxy | DRM-free + library aggregation | Occasional | No | Yes | Yes | No (native client) |
| EA App | EA Play access | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Ubisoft Connect | Ubisoft+ subscribers | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Battle.net | Blizzard / Activision titles | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Itch.io | Indie discovery + bundles | Yes, via bundles | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heroic Games Launcher | Linux + Epic/GOG on Steam Deck | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Why people are looking past Steam in 2026
Steam has over 50,000 games, a mature marketplace, and a workshop ecosystem that no competitor has matched. So why are people shopping around?
The first reason is cost and hardware uncertainty. The Steam Deck price increase rattled users who had been treating Valve as a reliably consumer-friendly company, and coverage from outlets like Eurogamer raised broader questions about Valve’s long-term hardware commitment. That made some players feel less locked into the Steam ecosystem than they had before.
The second is DRM. Almost everything you buy on Steam is locked to your account. GOG has made DRM-free ownership a selling point for years, and enough players care about owning their games outright that this matters.
The third is subscriptions. EA and Ubisoft both offer all-you-can-play subscription tiers that are genuinely good value if you play their catalogs heavily. Steam has no equivalent.
Finally, the interface. Steam’s desktop client has grown into something that doubles as a social network, a store, a community hub, and a game launcher all at once. For players who want something lighter, that weight adds up.
The 7 best Steam alternatives for PC
Epic Games Store: best for free weekly games and exclusives
Epic Games Store has handed out more than 400 free games since 2018, and the program is still running. Every Thursday at 11 AM Eastern, one or more titles are available for free with no subscription required. You claim them to your account and keep them permanently, which makes checking in once a week worthwhile even if you rarely buy anything.
On the paid side, Epic has secured notable exclusives over the years and often prices multiplatform games at parity or below Steam. The launcher is lighter than Steam’s client, with a cleaner store layout and faster load times on modest hardware.
Where it falls short: The social features are bare. No user reviews, no community forums, no workshop integration. Epic is a store and a launcher, nothing more, which is either a feature or a flaw depending on what you want.
Pricing:
- Free: Full access, no cost, free games weekly
- Paid: Games sold individually, no subscription
- vs Steam: No subscription tier, but weekly free games offset spend for many users
Download: Epic Games Store
Bottom line: If you want to build a large library for almost nothing over time and do not need community features, Epic is the first place to look.
GOG Galaxy: best for DRM-free ownership and library aggregation
GOG Galaxy is the only major PC storefront where every game you buy is yours without DRM. You can download the installer, back it up, and install it on any machine without an internet connection or an account check. For players who want to own their games the way they owned boxed copies in the 1990s, nothing else on this list comes close.
GOG’s catalog skews toward classic games and indie titles, with strong curated back-catalogs from publishers like CD Projekt, THQ Nordic, and Sega. The Galaxy client also functions as a library aggregator: connect your Steam, Epic, Xbox, PlayStation, and other accounts and see everything in one place, though you still launch non-GOG games through their native clients.
Where it falls short: The catalog is smaller than Steam’s. Many recent AAA titles skip GOG entirely, especially games with third-party DRM like Denuvo baked in at the publisher level. The aggregation feature is useful but not always reliable, with sync delays and occasional connection drops.
Pricing:
- Free: Full access, no cost
- Paid: Games sold individually, DRM-free
- vs Steam: Individual game prices are comparable; the value difference is in ownership, not price
Download: GOG Galaxy
Bottom line: Pick GOG Galaxy if DRM-free ownership matters to you or if you want a single place to browse all your PC libraries without switching apps.
EA App: best for EA Play subscribers
EA App replaced Origin in 2023 and is the required launcher for all EA games on PC. On its own it is a narrow proposition, but the EA Play subscription changes the calculus. EA Play gives you a catalog of over 100 EA and partner titles, a 10-hour early trial for new EA releases, and a 10% discount on purchases, all for a modest monthly fee. EA Play Pro, available at a higher tier on PC only, adds day-one access to new EA releases including titles like Battlefield and Dragon Age.
The launcher itself is lighter than Origin was. Installation is faster, the library loads quicker, and the interface is straightforward compared to Steam’s sprawl.
Where it falls short: It only carries EA titles. There is no meaningful third-party catalog. If you do not play EA games regularly, there is no reason to install it.
Pricing:
- Free: Access to EA games you already own, limited free-to-play titles
- EA Play: Monthly or annual subscription for catalog access
- EA Play Pro: Higher tier, day-one EA releases, PC only
- vs Steam: Meaningfully cheaper for heavy EA players; irrelevant for everyone else
Download: EA App
Bottom line: Get EA App if you play multiple EA titles a year. The subscription pays for itself quickly against full retail prices.
Ubisoft Connect: best for Ubisoft+ subscribers
Ubisoft Connect is the launcher and store for Ubisoft games on PC. Like EA App, it earns its place on this list through its subscription: Ubisoft+ includes day-one access to new Ubisoft releases plus a back-catalog of older titles. If you were going to buy Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry, or The Division at launch anyway, the subscription regularly works out cheaper.
The launcher also runs a rewards system where in-game actions earn points redeemable for cosmetics and discounts, which is a small but genuine perk that Steam does not match.
Where it falls short: Windows only. macOS and Linux users cannot use Ubisoft Connect natively. The launcher has also had a long history of connectivity issues, requiring an online check even for single-player games you already own.
Pricing:
- Free: Access to Ubisoft games you own
- Ubisoft+ Essential: Monthly access to a rotating back-catalog
- Ubisoft+ Premium: Day-one access to all new Ubisoft releases
- vs Steam: Substantially cheaper per year for Ubisoft-heavy players
Download: Ubisoft Connect
Bottom line: Ubisoft Connect is only worth installing if you actively play Ubisoft titles. The subscription is good value for that audience and irrelevant for everyone else.
Battle.net: best for Blizzard and Activision titles
Battle.net is the only way to play Blizzard and most Activision games on PC. That means World of Warcraft, Diablo IV, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty, StarCraft II, and Hearthstone all live here. It is a narrow catalog by store standards, but those are some of the most-played games in the world, which gives Battle.net more active users than most of its competitors.
The launcher is well-maintained and fast. Social features including cross-game friends lists and voice chat are baked in, which matters when your friends play across multiple Blizzard titles.
Where it falls short: Outside the Blizzard and Activision portfolio, there is nothing here. No third-party catalog, no indie section, no DRM-free options. The launcher also requires more background resources than the lighter clients on this list.
Pricing:
- Free: Access to free-to-play titles (Overwatch 2, Warzone, Hearthstone)
- Paid: Games sold individually; World of Warcraft uses a subscription model
- vs Steam: Not a direct competitor; you use Battle.net for Blizzard games and Steam for everything else
Download: Battle.net
Bottom line: If you play any Blizzard or Activision title, you already need Battle.net. For everyone else, there is no reason to install it.
Itch.io: best for indie discovery and DRM-free bundles
Itch.io is the most open game store on this list. Any developer can publish a game for free, which means the catalog covers everything from polished commercial releases to one-person jam games. The quality range is enormous, but the discovery tools are good enough to surface genuinely interesting work.
The store runs frequent charity bundles that are hard to match for value: thousands of games for a few dollars, with a portion going to a named cause. If you have picked up any Bundle for Racial Justice or similar package over the years, your Itch.io library is probably already large. The desktop client is lightweight and works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Where it falls short: No AAA catalog. If you want the latest big releases, Itch.io is not where you look. The storefront also lacks a reviews system as robust as Steam’s, making quality assessment harder for less well-known titles.
Pricing:
- Free: Full access, no cost
- Paid: Pay-what-you-want on many titles, fixed pricing on others
- vs Steam: Far cheaper for indie games, especially through bundles; not relevant for mainstream releases
Download: Itch.io desktop app
Bottom line: Itch.io is the best place to discover and support independent games. Install it alongside Steam rather than instead of it.
Heroic Games Launcher: best open-source launcher for Linux and Steam Deck
Heroic Games Launcher is a free, open-source launcher that gives Linux and Steam Deck users clean access to their Epic Games Store and GOG libraries without running Epic’s or GOG’s official clients. It uses the Legendary command-line tool under the hood for Epic and the GOG Games Database for GOG, wrapped in a modern Electron interface that is genuinely pleasant to use.
On Steam Deck specifically, Heroic fills a real gap. Epic’s official client does not run on Linux, so Heroic is the primary way Deck owners access their Epic library without switching to Windows. The launcher handles Proton and Wine configuration automatically, and it can import existing game installations rather than forcing a fresh download. It also supports Amazon Games Prime library access.
Where it falls short: Heroic depends on third-party tools and is not officially supported by Epic or GOG. Some games with aggressive anti-cheat (Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye) will not run through Proton regardless of the launcher. Heroic also does not have a native storefront, so you browse and buy games on the official sites, then launch them here.
Pricing:
- Free: Completely free and open-source
- vs Steam: No cost; accesses libraries you already have on Epic and GOG
Download: Heroic Games Launcher
Bottom line: Heroic is the right pick for Linux users and Steam Deck owners who have Epic or GOG libraries and do not want to run those launchers through compatibility layers manually.
How to choose
Pick Epic Games Store if you are on Windows or Mac and want to grow a library cheaply. Claim the free games every week and you will have hundreds of titles within a year.
Pick GOG Galaxy if DRM-free ownership is a priority or if you want a single library view across all your PC accounts. It is the right long-term choice for players who want games they genuinely own.
Pick EA App if you play multiple EA titles per year. The subscription covers a full game’s worth of value within a few months for regular EA players.
Pick Ubisoft Connect if Ubisoft releases are a regular part of your schedule. The subscription makes day-one access to new releases substantially cheaper than buying individually.
Pick Battle.net if you play any Blizzard or Activision title. There is no alternative for that catalog.
Pick Itch.io if you follow independent game development or participate in game jams. It is the most open and developer-friendly platform on this list.
Pick Heroic Games Launcher if you are on Linux or Steam Deck. It is the only clean way to run Epic and GOG libraries on those platforms without friction.
Stay on Steam if you want the largest catalog, the most active community, Steam Workshop, trading cards, and a unified library for non-Blizzard and non-Ubisoft games. No other launcher comes close on those dimensions. The practical answer for most PC gamers is Steam plus one or two of the above, not a full replacement.
FAQ
Is Epic Games Store better than Steam? For free games and a cleaner interface, Epic is genuinely ahead. For catalog size, community features, user reviews, Steam Workshop, and overall ecosystem depth, Steam is still stronger. Most players use both.
Can I play GOG games without the Galaxy client installed? Yes. Every GOG game comes with a standalone installer you can download and run without the Galaxy client. This is the main reason to buy on GOG if DRM-free offline access matters to you.
What is the best free Steam alternative? Epic Games Store hands out free games every week with no strings attached. Over a year, you can claim dozens of titles at no cost, which makes it the most financially attractive free option. Heroic Games Launcher is the best free option specifically for Linux users who already have Epic or GOG accounts.
Do any of these launchers work on Steam Deck? Heroic Games Launcher has the best Steam Deck support: it runs natively on Linux and integrates into the Deck’s interface cleanly. Itch.io also works via Flatpak. Epic’s and GOG’s official clients do not have native Linux versions, which is the core reason Heroic exists.
Is there a game launcher that combines all my libraries? GOG Galaxy’s aggregation feature connects Steam, Epic, Xbox, PlayStation, and other accounts in one library view. It is not always reliable, but it is the closest thing to a universal PC game launcher currently available.
What do people use instead of Steam for Linux gaming? Heroic Games Launcher is the most popular dedicated alternative for Linux, covering Epic and GOG libraries. Lutris is another option that handles a broader range of game sources including Battle.net, but it requires more manual configuration. Steam itself has the best Linux support of any major launcher through its Proton compatibility layer.
