How To Play Windows Games On Linux

Gaming on Linux has long been the holy grail of turning open-source operating systems into mainstream competitors to Windows.

Linux tin can do everything that Windows can, except host the latest games. In an endeavour to solve this problem and make gaming on Linux a viable proposition, comes a gaming customer, Lutris. Only what does Lutris do for running games on Linux, and should you try it out?

What Is Lutris?

A video game customer for Linux desktops, Lutris aims to deliver admission to all video games you own on PC. Bated from the current console video game generation, you lot should be able to use it to play anything.

It's a single interface that integrates with gaming stores and platforms. You can bask over 13000 games from retro systems, GOG, Steam, and more, all from the comfort of a Linux PC.

How Does Lutris Work?

Lutris is basically a launcher for Linux games that integrates with what it terms "runners."

This means that you can launch the games from a single interface, which will so prompt the appropriate runners to provide support for running the title. Runners include:

RetroArch
DOSBox
FS-UAE
ScummVM
MESS
Dolphin
Wine TkG (an optimized build of Wine)
Wine Steam (for running Windows games from the Steam library)

These and other runners (many of which are for retro gaming) enable a vast library of games to run on Linux via Lutris.

What You Need for Playing Games on Linux With Lutris

Depending on the type of game y'all programme on playing, y'all volition need to consider your reckoner hardware. A modern, recent system should be able to play the near recent games; older computers volition be limited to what games volition run.

In short, if you're planning on playing the latest titles with Lutris, yous need the latest hardware. Rely on older PCs and laptops to play retro titles.

Install Lutris on Ubuntu based systems every bit follows:

          sudo add together-apt-repository ppa:lutris-team/lutris
sudo apt update
sudo apt install lutris

Instructions for almost any Linux operating system you can name can be found on the Lutris website, where information technology is also available to install from source. Notation, however, that in that location is no Snap or Flatpak installation option.

How to Use Lutris to Play Your Favorite Games on Linux

Using Lutris is straightforward.

All information technology requires is for you lot to link up your accounts (Steam, GOG, etc.,) and then use Lutris as a launcher. Yet, there are some complications that can occur in this procedure, which is where Lutris' advanced settings come into play.

In most cases, however, if the right runners have been installed and associated with the game you want to run, Lutris should successfully launch the game you lot want to play. Some tweaking may be required, but by and large speaking the procedure works well.

Installing Steam Games on Linux With Lutris

To install Steam games with Lutris you first demand to ensure Wine and the Steam runner are both installed. Then, establish the Steam ID of the game you lot want to play. This can be found in three means:

Visit the game'south store page and check the URL – the last number in the address is the application ID, in the format https://store.steampowered.com/app/APPID.
Search for the game on Steam Database, a tertiary-party tool that provides a diversity of data nearly Steam products.
In Steam, right-click the game in question and select Properties > Updates. You'll find the App ID listed at the bottom of the screen.

With the App ID noted, switch to the Lutris window and click + > Add a new game. Here, input the Name of the game in Game Info and selected Wine as the runner. In the Game options tab, enter the Application ID from Steam and clicked Salve.

Finally, select the game in Lutris and click Start. A few moments (and a "wait or quit" notice) later the game should run.

For those titles that don't run in Linux natively, y'all can rely on the Wine Steam runner (come across below), or stream from a Windows PC running Steam. Whatsoever game yous have installed in Wine outside of Lutris can be added into the library and launched.

Installing Games from GOG on Linux With Lutris

If you prefer titles yous've bought from GOG, these can be installed past first linking your GOG account with Lutris. Here's how we installed The Settlers: Rising of an Empire – Gold Edition on Linux using Lutris.

Select GOG in the Sources section and browse the listing of games.
Select the game and click Install
Confirm installation of GOG
Ostend the destination file path
Click Go along when prompted (for example, to install the game transmission)
Click Proceed when prompted to download the game
When the game is downloaded, proceed with the installer magician
Click Launch when the installation has completed

Note that games installed in this way can take time, so patience is required here.

Install a Game Directly from the Lutris Library

You tin too install retro games through Lutris from the online library. These may crave runners, but these can be installed automatically as part of the game's download and installation.

Select Lutris in the Sources menu
Utilize the Search field at the elevation of the screen to find the game you want
Select the game and click Install
Click Install over again to ostend the installation destination
When prompted, click Install a third fourth dimension
Post-obit installation, click Launch to play the game

This simplicity makes Lutris a great option for retro gaming fans.

Install a Windows Game on Linux With Lutris

muo-linux-gaming-lutris-dorfromantik-steam

Finally, you lot tin run Windows games on Linux and launch them with Lutris. In that location are a couple of ways to practise this but the most straightforward is to rely on the Wine Steam runner, a custom version of Steam running nether Wine.

All you need to do is browse to the game and install it.

We found that the game (nosotros tested the strategy championship Dorfromantik) won't launch from Lutris, but launches fine from within Steam.

Other Ways to Play PC Games on Linux

Lutris isn't the simply way you can play PC games on a Linux computer. If the calculator meets the hardware requirements, y'all can as well utilize:

Steam/SteamOS: Valve's digital commitment service runs on Linux, both as an app and an Ubuntu-based operating arrangement (SteamOS).
Retro gaming platforms: almost all retro gaming systems are bachelor for Linux, opening a world of emulated classic games.
SparkyLinux: this Debian based OS has Steam, Wine, and PlayOnLinux built in to brand launching games simple
Ubuntu GamePack: this claims to launch over 85,000 games and is based on Ubuntu 20.04.

While Steam/SteamOS is a strong option, information technology relies on developers issuing Linux versions of the games in question. Ultimately, you need a solution that makes it easy to find and install the games you own, then launch them – Lutris has the edge hither.

Support Lutris for Linux Gaming

Lutris is a great way to play current PC games on Linux. As with many such systems it is not perfect – at that place is ever going to be a processing overhead, especially for new games – but Lutris successfully unifies a whole host of Windows gaming platforms and makes them playable on Linux. Throw in retro gaming and you've got a vast collection of titles to cull from.

Lutris is a not-for-turn a profit project that you can back on Patreon, via PayPal, or using LiberaPay.

Or, y'all could rely wholly on Steam or SteamOS for your Linux gaming.

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About The Writer

Christian Cawley (1590 Articles Published)

Deputy Editor for Security, Linux, DIY, Programming, and Tech Explained, and Actually Useful Podcast producer, with extensive experience in desktop and software support. A contributor to Linux Format magazine, Christian is a Raspberry Pi tinkerer, Lego lover and retro gaming fan.