This homebrew plugin that lets you install GOG and Epic games on your Steam Deck is getting a standalone Steam release

Image of the Steam Deck playing Frostpunk.

(Image credit: Future)

Junk Store, a plugin for the open source Steam Deck homebrew launcher Decky Loader that allows the installation of games from non-Steam storefronts like GOG and Epic, is headed to Steam as standalone software. Theoretically, we could soon be in a world where Steam's providing you with software allowing you to play games you've acquired from its competitors, and—for now, at least—Valve seems cool with it.

Announced yesterday on Reddit, Junk Store's Steam release is "seamlessly integrated with Steam" according to its store page, where its developer SDK Innovation says it allows you to "install and launch games directly in Game Mode without switching to Desktop or relying on external launchers." Sounds pretty good to me, especially if you've been diligently collecting free Epic games every week and don't want to tangle with homebrew software.

Unlike the Decky Loader plugin, Junk Store's jump to Steam will come with a price tag—a reasonable ask, considering the costs of developing standalone software. "This is a completely rebuilt product, using different technologies," SDK Innovation said on Reddit. "The code is not open source. We have had to reimplement everything that Decky provided and more. We need funding to hire developers to provide the features the community wants."

SDK Innovation acknowledges that, while Junk Store's Steam page has been approved, the software review it'll have to pass before being available for purchase is another matter. Compared to the software typically appearing on Steam like Wallpaper Engine, Junk Store is a more complicated conundrum. It wouldn't just allow for Valve hardware to install software from competing storefronts; it would be the first product on Steam that alters the functionality of Steam software itself.

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Lincoln has been writing about games for 12 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.