There are open source clients for Epic Games Store and GOG.COM, why not for Steam too?
Even disregarding the native Linux port… The Steam client is actually pretty decent. Any client would have to implement things like library navigation, storage management, Steam input support, the overlay, cloud sync and so on. And honestly, I don’t think anyone can reach the amount of features that Steam has.
Its probably why most people don’t actually use things like Lutris or Gnome Games to launch Steam games.
I know of this largely abandoned project: https://github.com/dmadisetti/steam-tui
I believe that while steam has public APIs for most stuff but there’s no way for a 3rd party client to provide DRM authentication, so the majority of games will not launch unless you also have the official steam client installed (note that steam does have a cli client)., rendering any 3rd party apps either simple wrappers for steam or severely limited.
That project does its job by running steamcmd, which is an official Valve client, not by calling public APIs.
That could be a viable way to implement parts of a Steam client, but since it depends on a proprietary tool, it wouldn’t be all open-source.
Edit: I wonder if Valve would be receptive to publishing the SteamCMD source code. They already have a github presence.
This just in: Steam is actually a form of DRM.
Valve offers an optional DRM system that has “steam” in its name, and Steam imposes some (easily circumvented) inconveniences that are also imposed by DRM, but no, Steam itself is not a form of DRM.
Right, their DRM is minimally invasive, which is right in line with their argument that piracy is a service problem. If they offer a service where you can pay for games, have them licensed to a user account, and make the experience flow without interruption, people will accept it.
I was really mostly joking and what you’re saying is accurate.
