How to play Fallout 76 on Linux
Fallout 76 is an online RPG developed and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is currently the only multiplayer Fallout game that exists. In the game, the player controls a survivor of nuclear war and tasks them with rebuilding society.
Fallout 76 was released initially on Bethesda’s gaming launcher in 2018 for PC. However, in 2020, the game made it’s way to Steam, paving the way for Linux users to enjoy it through Steam Play. Here’s how to set it up on Linux.
Like Fallout? Check out these wallpapers.
You can also play Fallout 4 and Fallout New Vegas on Linux.
Getting Fallout 76 working
Fallout 76 can only run on Linux with the power of the official Steam client for Linux. Sadly, the Bethesda Launcher version of the game does not play well with the Linux platform. To get Fallout 76 running, must install Steam first.
To install the Steam Linux client on your computer, start by opening up a terminal window. Once the terminal window is open, follow along with the command-line installation instructions outlined below that corresponds with the OS you are using.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu Linux users will have no issues getting Steam working. Just run the Apt command below and go!
sudo apt install steam
Debian
If you’re a Debian user, you will need to enable the “non-free” repo to install Steam with a simple “apt-get” command. It is much easier to download the Steam DEB package directly from the Steam website, as no configuration is required.
To download the latest Steam DEB package to your Debian Linux PC, run the following wget command. It will download to the home directory (~) on your system.
wget https://steamcdna.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steam.deb
After downloading the Steam DEB package to your Debian Linux PC, the installation of Steam can begin. Using the dpkg command, set up Steam.
sudo dpkg -i steam.deb
Arch Linux
Arch Linux, like Ubuntu, makes it incredibly simple to install the Steam for Linux client. To get it working on your system, run the following pacman command.
sudo pacman -S steam
Fedora/OpenSUSE
Fedora Linux does not offer the Steam client to Linux users through their software repositories, as the app is not open-source. On OpenSUSE Linux, things can be tedious as well. For best results, follow the Flatpak Steam instructions instead.
Flatpak
Steam for Flatpak is a godsend to Linux users who do not have easy access to an officially packaged release for the Steam client. It’s also useful for fans of the Flatpak format. To start the installation of Steam for Flatpak, you must install the Flatpak runtime on your Linux PC.
The Flatpak runtime can easily be installed on a wide variety of Linux operating systems by merely setting up the “flatpak” package. However, if you have trouble setting up the Flatpak runtime, please follow along with our guide on the subject.
Once the Flatpak runtime is set up on your computer, use the flatpak remote-add command to add the Flathub app store to your Linux PC.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Now that the Flathub app store is set up, you’ll be able to install the Steam client. Using the flatpak install command below, set up Steam.
flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam
After installing Steam, open up the app by browsing for it in the app menu on your Linux PC. Then, log into your account using your user credentials and follow the step-by-step instructions below to get Fallout 76 running.
Step 1: Find the “Steam” menu, and click on it to open it. Then, select “Settings” to open up the Steam Settings area. Once inside of Steam Settings, find “Steam Play” and select it with the mouse.
Step 2: In the Steam Play area, check both the “Enable Steam Play for supported titles” box and the “Enable Steam Play for all other titles” box to enable support for Windows games on Linux via Steam.
After enabling Steam Play in the client, close the Steam app.
Step 3: Open up a terminal window and enter the following commands to install Proton Glorious Eggroll, a custom runtime for Steam Play required to run Fallout 76.
wget https://github.com/GloriousEggroll/proton-ge-custom/releases/download/5.9-GE-6-ST/Proton-5.9-GE-6-ST.tar.gz
If you installed Steam through Apt, Pacman, etc., run:
mkdir -p ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/ tar xvf Proton-5.9-GE-6-ST.tar.gz -C ~/.steam/root/compatibilitytools.d/
If you installed Steam via Flatpak, run:
mkdir -p ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/ tar xvf Proton-5.9-GE-6-ST.tar.gz -C ~/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/data/Steam/compatibilitytools.d/
Step 4: Re-launch the Steam app on your Linux PC, and re-open the “Steam Play” area in Steam Settings.
Inside of the Steam Play area of Steam Settings, find “Run other titles with” and set the drop-down menu to “Proton-5.9-GE-6-ST.” Click “OK” to apply changes.
Step 5: Find “STORE” and click on it to access the Steam Storefront. Then, find the search bar, type in “Fallout 76,” and press Enter to search.
Look through the search results for “Fallout 76,” and click on it to access the Fallout 76 Steam Storefront page.
Step 6: On the Steam Storefront page, find the green “Add to cart” button, and select it to add Fallout 76 to your cart.
After purchasing Fallout 76, click on “LIBRARY” to access your Steam library.
Step 7: Look for “Fallout 76” in your Steam library, and click on it. Then, find the blue “INSTALL” button, and select it to download and install Fallout 76 for Steam.
When the installation is complete, the blue “INSTALL” button will become a green “PLAY” button. Click on it to enjoy the game!
Troubleshooting Fallout 76
With some tweaks, Fallout 76 works great on Linux. However, if you are running into problems while playing the game, feel free to check out the ProtonDB page for the game where you can submit issues and read what other Linux gamers have to say.
