14 DAY TRIAL // Leadwerks, a tool designed for Linux games development that managed to secure enough funding on Kickstarter, is now available in the Ubuntu Software Center.
The Leadwerks development team and Canonical have joined forces to provide Linux users with the tools necessary to make native games for the open source platform. This is the first time something like this happens and it's good to see Ubuntu Software Center coming out of the shadows.
“In an industry first, Leadwerks has chosen to focus on Ubuntu as the company’s primary supported platform. For many users, Leadwerks provides the last missing application they need to move entirely over to Ubuntu. With Leadwerks now available in the Ubuntu Software Center, developers can build and play games without ever leaving the Ubuntu operating system.”
“The PC platform plays to the company’s strengths in graphics and development tools. Linux is where the really exciting developments are happening, on the desktop and in the living room. Leadwerks for Linux is designed to bring user-friendly game development to desktop Linux, and Ubuntu is the leader in this space, so it makes sense to focus our efforts there. Growing a community of Ubuntu game developers is our primary goal over the next 12 months,” said Josh Klint, the Leadwerks CEO.
The Leadwerks Game Engine doesn't have the same notoriety that some of the other engines are enjoying right now, like Unity for example, but this move will definitely make it more open for developers and for regular users who want to try their hand at making games.
No other company in the Linux ecosystem has expressed its support for gaming development tools, and it looks like Canonical is the first one to do it. This will ensure that future games made with these tools are able to run on Ubuntu systems without any problems.
Canonical also used this opportunity to dust off the Ubuntu Software Center, which has been out of the spotlight for a few months. The developers from Ubuntu used to release statistics about sales on this platform, but that stopped. Even the guys who put together the Humble Bundle collections are no longer working with the Ubuntu Software Center.
Now that the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS cycle has ended, maybe the devs will be able to concentrate more on this digital distribution platform that has been available for ages, long before other OSes even considered integrating such an application.