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Updated: 8 June, 2023

by FreeFind

Not all major, mainstream games run natively on GNU/Linux, but there are still plenty of gaming options.


Some games are included in the official openSUSE repositories, but the Games repository on the openSUSE Build Service includes a lot more games. You can easily add this repository via the list of Community Repositories as described in the chapter about Software Repositories

Or add the games repository using the command line:
The Steam gaming platform and store is available for GNU/Linux.You can find packages of it here

The Desura distribution service for gamers provides easy access to non-free indie games, see:
http://www.desura.com

Linux Game Publishing buy titles and port them to GNU/Linux, see:
http://www.linuxgamepublishing.com

Lots and lots more of free and non-free games exist - some small and simple, others quite big, and many very good. Check out some of these sites:
http://www.tuxgames.com/
http://www.penguspy.com/
http://www.lgdb.org/
http://www.linuxgamingworld.com/

Some software available for GNU/Linux allows you to run games developed for MS Windows on GNU/Linux - ease of use and success rate may vary - however, the more popular the game, the more likely it is to be supported.

Wine (Wine Is Not an Emulator) is the first option, it's free software installable via the package manager. See the Wine app database for information on running individual games:
http://appdb.winehq.org/appbrowse.php?iCatId=2

Wine is a command line application, the syntax is:
PlayOnLinux is based on Wine and lets you easily install and use (some) MS Windows Games. You can find packages of PlayOnLinux in the above mentioned Games repository.

A second option is CrossOver Games which is an effort based on Wine. See:
https://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxgames/

Numerous emulators exist, making it possible to run many old classic games of other platforms on GNU/Linux. For example:

• Amiga (UAE)
• Arcade (MAME)
• Atari (Stella, Steem)
• Commodore 64/128 (VICE)
• MS DOS (DOSBox, DOSEMU)
• Nintendo (infones, bsnes, nestopia)
• Play Station (pcsx, pcsx2)