“Junk Store 2.0 gives me access to dozens of games I already own on platforms I rarely use — without all the convoluted workarounds.”
“JS allows me the freedom to choose stores with better deals, DRM-free options, or freebies — without sacrificing the joy and simplicity of the Steam Deck.”
“This is f***ing great and well worth the sub. It’s leagues better than before and blows the Decky Loader version out of the water.”
“It's the perfect Swiss Army knife for my Deck!”
“Complexity simplified, with Junkstore I can play all my games from other stores natively and seamlessly on my Steam Deck.”
Junk Store 2.0 – Pricing and What to Expect
We’re getting very close to the public release of the new version of Junk Store. This has been in the works for over a year, and we’ve finally reached the point where we can share pricing and give you a look at what’s coming.
We know this won’t satisfy everyone, but we have to be realistic about what’s needed to keep things sustainable — based on everything we’ve learned so far.
A few important clarifications upfront:
- This new version does not share code with the open source version.
- The open source version will remain available for the community, free to use and collaborate on.
- Junk Store does not handle any credentials other than its own. Your platform accounts (Steam, GOG, etc.) are not touched or stored by Junk Store.
Pricing
After a lot of thought (and number crunching), here’s where we’ve landed:- $40 (USD) for 12 months of updates
- Includes all extension presets (currently GOG, Epic, and Amazon — more to come)
- You keep everything released during your subscription
- Renewals are $40 for another 12 months of updates
- 7-day free trial
- Stripe handles billing — cancel anytime during the trial
Right now, we’re focused on final polish and making sure everything is ready for early adopters.
Thanks again to everyone who’s been on this journey with us — we’re nearly there.
How many devices can I install Junk Store on?
You can install Junk Store on up to five devices under a single license. We think this strikes a fair balance between flexibility and sustainability.Early Supporters & Rollout Plan
To thank our existing users and supporters, we’ll begin onboarding them first. Due to hosting and bandwidth costs, we’re rolling out in waves to stay sustainable. Based on past download volumes, an immediate public launch would burn through our budget fast — and we want to do this right.If you’ve previously purchased or contributed, you’ll be eligible for a discount that reflects your support. This is our way of saying thanks for backing the project early.
We also expect the first couple of weeks to be a bit bumpy — this is all new code, and no software survives first contact with real users. Scaling gradually helps us support everyone properly and fix issues as they come up.
What’s New?
This version is fully standalone — no more Decky required.- Major performance boost
- Amazon support
- Download queue
- Simplified extension generation (no coding needed)
- 1,000 game tab limit (up from 100)
- Built-in dependency installer (no more Proton Tricks)
- Localisation support for games
- Big stability improvements — just 2 breakages since October (neither affected Steam)
- Push L3+R3 to open the UI instantly
- …and more
This is a complete rebuild based on everything we learned from the Decky version. It’s been rock solid in internal use and with testers.
| Feature | Decky Version | Paid Version |
|---|---|---|
| Epic | âś… Yes | âś… Yes |
| UMU Fixes | âś…Yes | âś… Yes |
| GOG | đź’° Paid | âś… Yes |
| Amazon | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Download queue | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Emulators | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| ROM download support | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| GOG DOS games | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| GOG ScummVM games | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Built-in extension updates | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Built-in help | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Offline artwork cache | ❌ No | ✅ Yes (per extension) |
| Change game language | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Selective DLC install | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Change launcher per game | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Custom script hooks | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Cloud saves | ❌ No | ⚠️ Experimental |
| Access Junk Store | 📥 Decky menu | 🎮 L3+R3 or Ctrl+3 |
| Releases | 🔧 Decky process | 🚀 Direct |
| Performance | 💯 100 games/tab | 🔟🔟🔟 1000 games/tab |
| Tinkering | 🔒 Limited | 🔧 Extensive |
| Open extensibility | 🧩 All code | 🪄 Generator + code |
| Game dependency install | 🛠️ Manual 🧪 Proton Tricks | ⚙️ Built-in 🛠️ Manual 🧪 Proton Tricks |
| Custom extensions | 👨‍💻 Manual coding | 🧙 Wizard-supported |
| Customise extensions | 💻 Code heavy | 🧠Generated + hooks |
What’s Coming Next?
If launch goes well, here’s what we plan to add:- Itch.io support first (and EA, Ubisoft, Battle.net if viable)
- Cloud saves (done right — failure is not an option)
- Game-specific presets
- Better extension creation tools
- Community extension sharing
- Full UI localisation
- Automated updates
- And more as the platform matures
Why We Need to Charge?
Over 250,000 people downloaded the free version of Junk Store. While not all will upgrade, we have to plan for the possibility that many will at least try the new version — and trying has a cost.There are over 5 million Steam Deck users. If even a fraction of them download the installer (which is ~100MB), that’s terabytes of bandwidth. And it doesn’t stop there: each user may make 20–30 server requests per day, depending on usage. Those requests cost money — and at scale, it adds up very fast.
We want every user to get a 7-day free trial — but those trials still incur real backend costs.
And that’s just infrastructure. We’d love to grow the team and build bigger features like cloud saves, community sharing, and automated updates — but developers and testers aren’t free.
Since we can’t predict how many people will pay, we’ve had to base our pricing model on the users who’ve already contributed — meaning their purchases need to cover trials, servers, and support. That’s why the pricing isn’t just a “nice-to-have” — it’s the only way to scale sustainably.
I already paid or subscribed — and now you want me to pay again?
No — not unless you choose to upgrade.If you supported us before the public rollout of the new version, we’ll offer you a discount as a thank you. We're doing our best to be fair — both to our users and to ourselves. We know how hard it is to earn money. We're in the same boat, putting in long hours to build something valuable — not to squeeze anyone dry.
You’re not expected to repurchase anything.
- If you bought the GOG extension, it remains yours.
- If you’re happy with the existing Decky version, keep using it — it’s still available and supported.
But that’s optional. No pressure.
Why no lifetime option?
We’ve seriously thought about it — but whose lifetime do you mean?Yours? The developer’s? The Steam Deck’s? The software’s (v2, v3, or beyond)?
What if Valve discontinues the Steam Deck or changes how Steam works? You’d end up paying for “lifetime” access to something that may no longer be usable.
Tech changes fast, and long-term promises aren’t realistic. That’s why we offer 12 months of updates from your purchase date — including any major version releases during that time.
After those 12 months, you keep full access to the version you have. There’s no “kill switch” — it just stops updating unless you renew.
Why not monthly subscriptions?
We don’t like them either. To offer monthly billing, we’d need strict licensing and always-online checks. That could mean losing access to Junk Store and your games when the subscription ends — and we don’t want that.Instead, we offer annual subscriptions with:
- A full 7-day free trial
- Clear expectations and no future promises you’re paying for
- No pressure — if it’s not for you, walk away, no hard feelings
When will I know how much of a discount I’m getting, or when I’ll get access?
Each user’s discount is tailored based on their individual support history — some gave more, and we’ve tried to reflect that in kind. You’ll see your discount when you sign up for the trial.That said, the data we had to work with wasn’t perfect. Some of it required manual sorting, so if your discount doesn’t look right, please reach out — we want to make sure everyone is treated fairly.
How frequently will updates and fixes roll out in v2?
Now that we control the full release cycle, we can push updates more frequently and with less friction. While we can’t guarantee a fixed schedule, separating extensions from the core plugin means fixes and new features can roll out quickly — sometimes within minutes once verified. We’re also building stable, beta, and test release streams so users can choose how cutting-edge they want to be. The pipeline is still evolving, and we will be bringing on help to speed things up as resourcing permits.We understand some users might worry about updates after release. The core commitment is a stable, working product with ongoing maintenance and support. New features will come as development allows, but they’re not what you're paying for upfront.
Users should base their purchase decision on what the product currently offers — not on promises or speculative future features. If the current feature set doesn’t meet their needs, they’re free to wait and buy once it supports what they’re looking for.
How resilient is Junk Store to SteamOS updates, now that it’s separate from Decky?
Junk Store doesn’t rely on Decky Loader. Instead, it uses a lightweight system called junk-loader, built to be more resilient with SteamOS updates.Unlike Decky, junk-loader runs as a user-mode systemd service, meaning:
- No
sudoaccess or password required - Cleaner system integration
- No conflicts if Decky is also installed
Since switching to our own loader, Junk Store has only broken three times — and never in a way that took Steam down with it. Even when things glitched, Steam kept running, and users weren’t locked out of their games.
It’s impossible to fully predict what Valve will change in future updates, but because our system is much smaller and more focused than Decky’s, we’re less exposed to breakages. We don’t have to support hundreds of plugins, so we can move faster when things do change.
We often catch issues before they reach stable builds, and we're working toward automated recovery updates, so if something breaks, it can “self-heal” without requiring action from you. That said, we’ll roll this out carefully — auto-updates can be risky if not done right, and we want to make sure they’re safe before enabling them for everyone.
What’s the future of the GOG addon and its open-source availability?
We’re using the GOG addon as a canary in the coal mine. If enough people continue to support it by purchasing, that sends a clear signal we should keep investing time into both the GOG addon and maintaining the open-source code. However, if sales drop off significantly, it will indicate we can safely scale back or stop work on the open-source version without jeopardizing the project’s sustainability. We will keep the door open on this and revisit it in the future though. It all comes down to sustainability.
If not, will it be made clear to people that they’re purchasing something that’s receiving maintenance updates only?
Yes — we’ll be upfront about that. The GOG addon will continue to receive bug fixes and essential maintenance, but we’re not actively adding new features at this time. The older system is much more time-intensive to work with compared to our new version, which automates much of the heavy lifting. That’s where our focus currently lies, though we’ll keep reassessing based on user demand and available resources.
It’s important to understand that some features users want are simply too large to build within the limitations of the existing GOG extension. While backporting features from the new version would be nice, it would require roughly ten times the effort due to the new tooling and rearchitected design centered around it.