Private and open-source alternatives to Steam
6 games rated against the same public privacy criteria as Steam, with our picks first.
Why look for an alternative?
- Open source: no. Closed source.
- No trackers or telemetry: no. The client sends playtime, device and crash data to Valve as part of the service, and the website offers optional third-party analytics cookies. The Android app has no trackers per Exodus Privacy.
- Independent audit: no. No independent audit is published.
The alternatives
Bottles Grade B
Linux app for running Windows software and games through Wine, with isolated environments called bottles, preset configurations for gaming or software, dependency installers and runner management.
Bottles scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the games criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Heroic Games Launcher Grade B
Open source game launcher for Epic Games Store, GOG and Amazon Games on Linux, Windows and macOS. It replaces the official clients but still signs in to the user's store accounts.
Heroic Games Launcher scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the games criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Lutris Grade B
Open source game manager for Linux that installs and launches games from GOG, Steam, Epic and other stores, emulators and Windows games through Wine, using community install scripts from lutris.net.
Lutris scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the games criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
Playnite Grade B
Open source game library manager for Windows that imports games from Steam, Epic, GOG, emulators and other launchers into one interface, with metadata downloads, a fullscreen mode and extensions.
Playnite scores 80 out of 100 (grade B) on the games criteria. It meets 3 of 4 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry and no ads or data sales.
itch.io Grade F
Desktop app for itch.io, an online marketplace for independent games, used to browse, download, install, update and launch games bought or claimed on the site.
Based in the United States (Five Eyes). itch.io scores 35 out of 100 (grade F) on the games criteria. It meets 1 of 4 criteria: no ads or data sales.
GOG Galaxy Grade F
GOG's optional desktop client for installing and updating DRM-free games bought on GOG.com, with cloud saves, achievements and integrations that combine game libraries from other platforms.
Based in Poland. GOG Galaxy scores 0 out of 100 (grade F) on the games criteria. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and independent audit.