How to download Windows games from Steam onto a Linux computer?
I recently switched to an Ubuntu computer and the one thing that annoys me is the lack of games available. However I have found a program called WINE which can run Windows applications (.exe) on Linux computers. I have nearly all of my games on Steam but it won't let me download the files if I'm not on a supported OS, even if I could use them through WINE.
Now my question is; would it be possible to download the games in my Steam library any other way? I wouldn't mind if they didn't have steam overlay support and other steam functions, as long as I could play the games.
Best Answer
If you don't want to install the Windows version of Steam and just want to download the Windows binaries for a game you can use SteamCMD which does have a Linux version and an option for force downloading binaries for any given platform.
You'll need to know the SteamID of the game which you can find from steamdb.info.
./steamcmd.sh
@sSteamCmdForcePlatformType windows
login <USERNAME>
app_update <STEAM_ID> validate
quit
The game will appear as Installed in Steam for Linux but won't start from there so you'll have to start the game manually with wine. I'm not sure whether automatic updates will work.
There's also an option for forcing installation dir but I haven't tried it:
force_install_dir ../games/
Using SteamCMD won't work if the game uses Steam's digital restrictions management (DRM) scheme and you'll need to use the Windows version of Steam through wine instead.
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Can you play Windows Steam games on Linux?
That said, there are plenty of Steam games that will run on Linux, and quite often, a Windows Steam game can be convinced to run on Linux even though some 'fettling' by the user may be required. This approach is officially supported by Steam using a system called Proton.Can you download Windows games on Linux?
Thanks to a tool from Valve called Proton(Opens in a new window), which leverages the WINE(Opens in a new window) compatibility layer, many Windows-based games are completely playable on Linux through Steam Play.Can you download games from Steam on Linux?
These days, you can install a native version of Steam on Linux, and there are many games with native Linux support as well. On top of that, Steam allows you to download their forked version of Wine called Proton, which is preconfigured to run your favorite Windows games.How do I install just Windows games on Linux Steam?
Play Windows-only games in Linux with Steam PlayInstall Steam and Play Windows Games on Linux!
More answers regarding how to download Windows games from Steam onto a Linux computer?
Answer 2
In 2018 Steam introduced something called Proton, which is a fork of Wine that's integrated into Steam and continually updated.
It can be enabled under Steam > Settings > Steam Play by checking the tickboxes:
Enable Steam Play for supported titleswill let you download and play titles already tested under ProtonEnable Steam Play for all other titleswill let you download and play any game using Proton, although keep in mind that those are untested waters so there is no guarantee that everything will work
More information:
Answer 3
I'm not sure if this is helpful but have you tried PlayOnLinux? I have personal experience with this, and it is easy to use + not slow at all. Also they are trying to bring Directx 11 to PlayOnLinux which brings great gaming possibilities with it. If you are interested you can follow this article at gameonlinux to bring your games from steam to POL.
Answer 4
I just found this little script and it works perfectly fine for me:
https://github.com/dotfloat/steam-appmanifest
Type in your Steam ID, pick your game, restart Steam and it will be installed automatically.
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