Nexus Mods Reverses Course, Commits To SteamOS Support For Vortex Manager

Nexus Mods is developing SteamOS support for its Vortex mod manager, a decision that reverses the company's recent move to end its multiplatform application.

The plan, detailed in Nexus' second announcement, is to bring the Windows-only manager to Valve’s Linux-based operating system. This development occurred shortly after the company shelved its newer, multi-platform Nexus Mods App to consolidate efforts around the established Vortex platform. The initial decision had left Linux and Steam Deck users without a clear path for official support.

"We’ll be targeting vanilla Steam hardware like the Steam Deck and Steam Machine."

— Iluviel, Nexus general manager

Nexus will not officially support other Linux distributions, but since Vortex is an open-source project, the company stated that community developers are free to extend compatibility to their preferred versions. This effectively provides a path for broader Linux support, even if it relies on third-party maintenance. The change in direction came after the Nexus' first announcement via GamingOnLinux, which explained that developing two separate applications had become counterproductive. At the time, Nexus stated it was "competing with ourselves instead of solving the actual problems in front of us" by splitting development resources. This led to the decision to stop development on the Nexus Mods App and focus entirely on Vortex.

Beyond platform support, Nexus is also directing resources toward improving the Vortex user experience. The company acknowledged that certain features, particularly load order management for Bethesda games, have been a persistent issue for users. The new development focus includes investments in the developer experience to enable quality-of-life improvements. These planned updates aim to streamline navigation, simplify game management, and introduce more intuitive controls for load orders. Nexus expects the interface to become cleaner and more responsive by integrating design lessons from other recent projects. The company cautioned that these updates are in the early stages and did not provide a specific timeline for release, but confirmed that work has already begun.

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