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Welcome to the Linux Gaming wiki!

We seek to make an open, standard type of wiki that gathers all information, tutorials and tweaks to help with gaming on Linux. We were previously located at the Linux Gaming subreddit wiki. Feel free to contribute! We need it for this wiki to gain traction. You can backup the wiki using this XML dump.

Overview

Getting started

• Should you switch to Linux gaming? - Things to consider before wiping Windows.
• Getting started with Linux - In depth guide about how to start.
• Getting started (short version) - If you just want something that works.
• How to get answers - Knowing what information are relevant for a search engine or a forum.
• Cheatsheet - terms you might stumble upon while reading this wiki

Running games

• Lutris - The most important launcher. Big library of scripts to help you install many games. Runs basically everything.
• Heroic - Launcher to run games from Epic and GOG.
• Steam - The best way to install games from Steam.
• Bottles - Run games and other programs that don't have a good install script.
• Flashpoint Launcher - Play Flash games offline.
• RetroArch - Emulator front-end.

Tweaking

• Troubleshooting - What to do if your game just won't work.
• Installing dlls - How to get Windows dependencies.
• Winetricks - Easy tool to do tweaks.
• Environment variables - You might use them to pass options to programs.
• Gamescope - Tool to make games think they run maximized on a single monitor.
• Graphic drivers on Linux - information about video card drivers on Linux

Performance

• Improving performance - What to do if you get less FPS, more input lag, or more stuttering than on Windows.
• FSR - AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution. A technique to get significantly more performance in GPU limited games.
• Gamemode - Tool to improve performance.
• Compositor - Makes your desktop look nice, but may cost a lot of performance in games.
• CoreCtrl - Tool to control CPU and GPU. Especially interesting if you have an AMD GPU.
• Hardware video acceleration in Web browsers - Information on enabling hardware video acceleration in web browsers.
• Monitoring & Stresstesting - How to test that your tweaked system is still stable

Modding

• Modding - How to make mods work on Linux.
• Visual Enhancement - Enhancing the visuals of a game.
• List of Game specific modding tools

Hardware

• Hardware Recommendations - good hardware that you can buy and that is known to have good support
• Working Hardware - an extensive list of hardware that is known to work

Other

• Terminal - The scary black thing with text. How to use it without messing up your computer.
• Common tweaks - How to disable mouse acceleration (and more - to be done).
• Misc - Various stuff that doesn't (yet) deserve an own article but might be useful.
• Windows Compatibility - How to run Windows programs
• Desktop Environment - The interface of your system. You can change it!
• Window Manager - The thing that you use to move windows around on your screen
• Graphical tools - Programs that no one tells you about, but that you might like if you don't want to use the terminal

External Links

List of interesting websites related to Linux gaming. All of the information held within these sites is the responsibility of their respective owners.

Databases

• ProtonDB - database of crowdsourced reports of Steam game compatibility with Proton
• SteamDB - site providing information on real-time changes to Steam games
• PCGamingWiki - multi-OS game database
• OS Game Clones - open source remakes of classics
• Libregamewiki - wiki of free and open source (libre) games
• Wine Database - holds support information for games that can be run through Wine

Documentation

• Arch Wiki - a high quality, well maintained source for information on Arch Linux, as well as applications available for it. Most information also applies to other distributions.

News

• GamingOnLinux
• BoilingSteam

Software centers

• Flathub - the default repository of Flatpak, a distribution agnostic package manager

Stores

• The Feral Store
• GOG.com - contains downloadable Linux binaries, but launcher (GOG Galaxy) is not available for Linux
• itch.io - provides many indie games and game assets via it's Linux native app or website.
• Zoom Platform - DRM-free retro games.
• GameJolt
• Indiegala
• Humble Bundle
• IndieGameStand Store

Official support

• Official Steam for Linux bug tracker - searching for issues posted on Steam or games on Steam may provide solutions
• Official Proton bug tracker - generally every Proton game is kept track of in its own issue report, so see if your game already has one and only create a new report if one doesn't exist
• Feral Interactive - for support on any games that have been ported/published by Feral Interactive

Forums

• GamersOnLinux - Linux gaming community forum
• LinuxQuestions.org - very well established general support site for Linux
• Steam for Linux Community - Steam's own hub for the Steam for Linux client and games
• Wine Forums - for support on games run through Wine that may not be covered in the Database

Subreddits

• /r/linux
• /r/linux_gaming
• /r/LinuxQuestions - general Linux support subreddit
• /r/Linux4Noobs - subreddit providing Linux support that is "explicitly noob-friendly"
• /r/techsupport - large multi-OS support subreddit

Miscellaneous

• List of DRM free games on Steam
• GamingOnLinux's list of crowdfunding campaigns - information on all known current crowdfunding campaigns relevant to Linux games.
• GamingOnLinux Database - tracking all Linux games and more

Outdated pages

The following pages are heavily outdated. You should probably look somewhere else to get information. If you have the knowledge, please feel free to update them.

• Linux_Gaming FAQ - information on this page is covered by other articles on this wiki.
• Linux ports on Steam Greenlight - Steam Greenlight was removed.
• List of Linux games missing from Steam - use SteamDB instead.
• List of Linux games pulled from the Steam Store - follow the instructions posted into this Steam Community thread instead.
• List of Source Ports - use Libregamewiki and OS Game Clones instead.