How to play Killing Floor 2 on Linux
Killing Floor 2 is an FPS shooter published by Tripwire Interactive. The game is playable in both single-player as well as multiplayer and focuses on the events of Killing Floor 1, where a bio-tech firm created zombies that terrorize the world. In this guide, we will show you how to get the game working on Linux.
Getting Killing Floor 2 working on Linux
Getting Killing Floor 2 working on Linux has got to be done with the Steam Linux client. The reason is that it relies heavily on Proton and the Steam Play feature to run the game. So, you must install the Linux Steam client.
Install Steam
To install Steam, launch a terminal window and follow the directions below that corresponds with the Linux OS you currently use.
Ubuntu
If you’re using Ubuntu Linux, it is possible to install Steam on your computer using the apt install command below.
sudo apt install steam
Debian
Debian users can run Steam no problem. However, the only way to install it through the official Debian repositories is to enable the “non-free” software source, which can be confusing to new users. A much better way to go is to download the official DEB package directly from the internet.
wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steam.deb
After the Steam package is done downloading, you can load up the app on your computer using the following dpkg command.
sudo dpkg -i steam.deb
Be sure to run sudo apt-get install -f after setting up the Steam package to correct any dependency issues that may arise during the installation.
Arch Linux
On Arch Linux, the Steam app is not difficult at all to get working. To install it on your system, all you need to do is run the following Pacman command in a terminal window.
sudo pacman -S steam
Fedora/OpenSUSE
Both Fedora and OpenSUSE can run Steam, but you may need to enable third-party software sources to do so, like RPM Fusion. Instead, consider following the Flatpak installation instructions. Flatpak is pre-configured on Fedora, and it simple to get working on OpenSUSE.
Flatpak
The Steam app is available to all Linux users via the Flathub Flatpak app store. If you’re looking to get the Flatpak version of Steam working for your system, the first thing you must do is install the Flatpak runtime. To do that, follow our in-depth guide on the subject.
After setting up the Flatpak runtime on your computer, use the flatpak remote-add command to set up the Flathub app repository. This repository is necessary to install the latest Steam Flatpak app.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Now that the Flathub repo is set up on your computer, the installation of Steam can begin. Using the flatpak install command, download and install the latest Flatpak version of Steam on your computer.
flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam
Get Killing Floor 2
With the Steam for Linux app set up, follow the step-by-step instructions below to get Killing Floor 2 working on your PC.
Step 1: Log into Steam with your account information. After logging in, locate the “Steam” menu, and click on it with the mouse. Inside of the “Steam” menu, look for “Settings” and select it to bring up the “Settings” window.
Step 2: Inside of the “Settings” window, locate the “Steam Play” option and click on it to access it. 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.
Step 3: After enabling Steam Play, locate the “STORE” button, and click on it with the mouse to go to the Steam Store. Once on the Steam Store, click on the search box, and search for “Killing Floor 2.” Click on “Killing Floor 2” in the search results to access it on the store page. Then, click “Add to cart” to purchase it.
Step 4: Now that Killing Floor 2 is in your Steam library, click on “LIBRARY” to go to your Steam games library. Then, search for Killing Floor 2 and select the blue “INSTALL” button to download the game to your PC.
Step 5: With Killing Floor set up on your PC, right-click on it, and select “Properties.” Inside of the “Properties” area, look for “Set Launch Options” and select it. Then, paste the following code into the launch options box.
PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 WINEESYNC=0 %command%
Step 6: After setting up the launch options, close the properties window, and click on the green “PLAY” button to start up the game.
Troubleshooting Killing Floor 2
Killing Floor 2 has a gold rating on Proton so you may run into problems playing the game. For help, please check out the ProtonDB page for Killing Floor 2. It should help you troubleshoot and fix any issues that arise.
