Google releases SwiftShader, Spatials update coming to Linux, and more gaming news

In this week's edition, we take a look at SwiftShader, The Spatials: Galactology's plan for a Linux release, and more.

Google open sources SwiftShader

Google has released SwiftShader, a software library for high-performance graphics rendering on the CPU, under the open source Apache License (v2). SwiftShader is already used in multiple products, including Chrome, Android development tools, and cloud services. Since 2009, Chrome has used the library to enable 3D rendering on systems that can’t fully support hardware-accelerated rendering.

The Spatials: Galactology coming to Linux

The Spatials: Galactology is the updated version of The Spatials, a great looking space station building and management game that was released for Linux last year. Galactology is expected to take the gamer's experience a notch further with new structures, items, and gameplay elements. The Linux release was confirmed by the game's official Twitter account, though it didn't specify a release date.

New games out for Linux

Oxenfree

Oxenfree is an supernatural thriller that takes elements of '80s teen movies and packages them into a polished adventure game. You control Alex, a teenager who brings his stepbrother Jonas to an overnight party on an old military island, where they open a ghostly gate. Here's what Gaming on Linux has to say about the game:

It seems that Oxenfree answers the question of what would happen if you brought the premise of a summertime adventure with teens with spooky happenings from the realm of movies and turned it into a game.

Legacy of the Elder Star

Legacy of the Elder Star is a new indie shoot 'em up game released for Linux. You play as the Cosmonaut, a cosmic hero who must shatter the robotic Infinite Legion and rekindle a dying star. Here's what Gaming on Linux has to say about the game:

I'm a big fan of shoot 'em up games since playing them on the Sega Megadrive as a child and again on the Amiga and so on. The problem is, we have a vast amount of them, so they really need to offer something special.