Lutris vs RomM

Lutris is a free, open-source gaming platform for Linux that brings games from different eras and systems into one client. It connects to Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Humble Bundle, while also integrating with launchers such as Battle.net, EA App, and Ubisoft Connect. Runners provide compatibility layers, emulators, and game-engine reimplementations for games from different platforms. Downloads and installations can be automated and adjusted through user-made scripts. Lutris presents itself as a video game preservation platform and does not sell commercial games; users install titles purchased from other stores. It supports current Linux distributions and recommends up-to-date graphics drivers, Vulkan, and 32-bit OpenGL and Vulkan libraries. For Windows games, it recommends installing Wine through the system package manager. Steam Deck instructions cover installation from Discover in Desktop Mode and creating Steam shortcuts. The project notes that distribution compatibility can cause issues and suggests disabling its runtime when troubleshooting.

RomM is a free, self-hosted app for scanning, enriching, browsing, and playing a ROM collection. The project says it supports more than 400 platforms, including multi-disk games, DLCs, mods, hacks, and manuals. Compatible games can run in a browser through EmulatorJS and Ruffle without setup, while saves and states sync across devices with conflict resolution. Metadata providers include IGDB, ScreenScraper, LaunchBox, and MobyGames; RomM can also fetch artwork from SteamGridDB and track RetroAchievements. A built-in patcher applies ROM hacks and translations. The project lists granular per-user permissions, OIDC single sign-on, a REST API, and exports for ES-DE and Pegasus. Official clients include a Windows Playnite plugin, the Android Argosy handheld launcher, and the Linux Grout handheld client. A native iOS app is a community project, and the team says it does not regularly review community project source code. RomM is AGPL-3.0 licensed, with no tracking or paid features. Setup help and community discussion are available through Discord.