Gone are the days when Linux gamers had to jump through hoops to make their favorite games work on their favorite distro. Thanks to Valve and Proton, freshest releases work day one on Linux gaming machines with little to no tinkering.
Even massive, triple-A blockbusters often work day and date on Linux, something that was considered nigh impossible just a few years ago. Here are 15 games that you can play on your Linux PC with little to no tinkering.
1No Man’s Sky
Almost a whole decade has passed since the ill-fated release ofNo Man’s Sky. Hello Games, however, managed to turn the game into an absolute win during the intervening years. In 2025, No Man’s Sky is one of the best options for fans of both survival and games set in space.
The game should work on mostLinux distroswithout tinkering. If you encounter issues, the most common tinkering steps include switching toProtonExperimental and not disablingshader pre-caching. If you have problems running the game, visit theNo Man’s SkyProtonDB page.
Dead by Daylightis a similar age toNo Man’s Sky, and despite it being almost a decade old, the game is still regularly found quite high on Steam’s top 100 chart. Its unique asymmetrical approach to multiplayer made it one of the early “4v1” success stories, and despite most other attempts fading into oblivion,Dead by Daylightis as popular as ever.
The game runs fine on Linux in most cases, without any tinkering. That said, being alive service gamemeans that any new update might mess things up for Linux gamers, which is usually fixed with a new Proton version. If you encounter errors, you might want to switch to Proton Experimental or Proton GE, or force the game to launch in DX11 mode. You can find more info onthe game’s ProtonDB page.
3Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
Kingdom Come: Deliverance IIis my personal 2025 GOTY, so far at least. A brilliant medieval RPG that insists on realism, perfect for fans of the genre who like to talk their way out of virtually every situation. The combat is subpar, but everything else is top-notch.
I playedKCD IIon my Steam Deckon day one and didn’t encounter any issues. If anything, the game runs even better than it did at launch.
You might want to use the following launch option in Steam if you’re having issues with the screen turning off when playing with a controller:
The issue stems fromWayland, which can sometimes fail to recognize controller input, leading to the screen timing out. If you encounter additional hurdles, visitthe game’s ProtonDB pageto see if you’re able to find a solution.
4Guild Wars 2
I remember trying outGuild Wars 2when it went free-to-play in 2015. While I’m not anMMOgamer in the slightest, I had a fun couple of weeks leveling up and exploring Tyria. A decade laterGuild Wars 2is still one of the hottest MMORPGs on the market, for good reason.
If you’re a Linux gamer searching for a Linux-friendly MMORPG to sink your teeth into, Guild Wars 2 is arguably the best choice out there. As of this writing, the game works great out of the box—you might want to switch to Proton Experimental for a performance boost. Steam Deck players should also switch to a community control layout since the game is optimized for keyboard and mouse.
Check outGuild Wars 2’s ProtonDB pagefor potential solutions in case you stumble upon any other issues.
5Lethal Company
One of the hottest co-op horror pastimes on the market can be a hilarious experience thanks to the game’s proximity chat. If you’ve got a couple of buddies to team up with and embark upon a scrap-collecting adventure taking place in abandoned industrial enclaves all across the galaxy, by all means, checkLethal Companyout.
Lethal Companyworks flawlessly out of the box, which is great news for anEarly Accessgame. You’ll most likely have to tinker with launch commands a bit if you want to mod it, though, as well as installr2modman. You can find more pertinent info onthe game’s ProtonDB page.
6THE FINALS
A multiplayer shooter not made by Valve that works great on Linux? It’s more likely than you think thanks toTHE FINALS. Dice veterans from Embark Studios made an excellent competitive shooter, and while the game had struggled with retaining players, it can now be regularly found on the Steam top 100 chart.
THE FINALSworks great on most distros out of the box, but an occasional update might make it temporarily unplayable. You might have to use the latest Proton Hotfix or switch to Proton Experimental bleeding-edge—find Proton in your Steam Library, go to properties > betas, and enable Proton Bleeding Edge—in case the game gives you trouble. For more potential solutions, visitthe game’s ProtonDB page.
7Black Desert
Black Desertis another MMORPG that works great on Linux. The game turned 10 last December, but despite its age, it’s more popular than ever. It’s been on Steam since 2017, which is hands down the best way to play it on Linux.
It should work fine on Linux out of the box, unless you’re living in South America, since that version of the game is broken for Linux players. You might encounter longer loading times, but in most cases, running the latest stable version of Proton should give you more frames than on Windows. This is another game that benefits from the following launch option:
Also, verify it runs in full-screen mode.Steam Deckowners should switch to one of the many community control layouts. For more info, there’sthe game’s ProtonDB page.
8War Thunder
War Thunderhas been one of the most popular multiplayer games for years now. Its unique offering, which includes planes, tanks, battleships, and soon infantry, proved to be a winning formula for tons of gamers across the world.
In general,War Thunderworks flawlessly on Linux; no tinkering is needed. The only limitation as of writing this seems to be the lack ofray tracingeffects for AMD GPU owners. You might need to switch to Proton Experimental after an update, but that’s pretty much it. If you encounter unique issues,the game’s ProtonDB pagewill always be there to the rescue.
9Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33is the biggest breakaway hit of 2025 and a game that will end up on many GOTY lists. I’m playing it right now and I can confirm that it slaps. The combat is the highlight for me, but the story isn’t far behind quality-wise.
Surprisingly, the game has been running perfectly on Linux from day one. Once again, use the following launch option if you’re playing with a controller:
But other than that, this is one of the best games to play on Linux at the moment. As always, I recommend visitingthe game’s ProtonDB pageto find out how the game runs on your Linux distro.
10Split Fiction
Looking for somesplit-screen co-op actionfor your Linux PC? How about the best split-screen co-op game on the market,Split Fiction? The game looks great, plays even better, and even though the story’s kind of meh, the gameplay makesSplit FictionHazelight Studios' best game yet.
Since this is another title that plays much better with a controller, hit it with the following launch option:
If the game fails to recognize your controller, switching to Proton Experimental should resolve the issue. VisitSplit Fiction’sProtonDB page for more info regarding the performance and compatibility with different distros.
