How to play Age of Empires II (2013) on Linux
Age of Empires II (2013) is an HD re-release of the beloved strategy game Age of Empires by Hidden Path Entertainment and Microsoft Studios. It is a real-time strategy game in which users play as various historical empires and battle to win.
Upon release, Age of Empires II (2013) was only available for Microsoft Windows. However, thanks to Proton and Steam Play, it is possible to get this game working on Linux. Follow along to find out how!
Getting Age of Empires II (2013) working
Age of Empires II (2013) works quiteStep 6: well on Linux thanks to the Proton and Steam Play technology. If you’re interested in playing this game on your system, open up a terminal window and follow the step-by-step instructions outlined below.
Step 1: The first thing you must do to get AoE II working on Linux is to install the Linux Steam client. Follow the command-line installation instructions that correspond with the Linux operating system you currently use.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install steam
Debian
It is possible to get Steam working on Debian, though it is best to download the client directly from Valve’s website. Otherwise, you’d have to enable “non-free” software sources, and that can be tedious. To download the latest release of the Steam client for Debian, use the wget command.
wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steam.deb
Once the wget command finishes downloading the latest release of Steam for Debian, run the dpkg tool to install Steam on your Debian Linux PC.
sudo dpkg -i install steam.deb
Installing Steam as a DEB on Debian means that dependency errors will appear. Correct these errors with apt-get install -f.
sudo apt-get install -f
With the dependencies corrected, you’ll be ready to use Steam on Debian.
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S steam
Fedora
Those using Fedora Linux can get the Steam client on Fedora with a third-party software repository. However, it is much easier just to follow the Flatpak instructions instead.
OpenSUSE
We recommend OpenSUSE users follow the Flatpak installation instructions if they want to get Steam working, as it is generally considered the easiest way to get the app working on the operating system.
Flatpak
To set up the Steam app in Flatpak, start by following our guide to set up the Flatpak runtime on your Linux PC. Then, when the Flatpak runtime is working, enter the flatpak remote-add command and the flatpak install command to get Steam installed.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam
Step 2: After installing Steam on your Linux PC, open up the app and log into your account. Once logged in, locate the “Steam” menu, click on it, and select the “Settings” menu inside.
By clicking on “Settings,” you will gain access to the Steam Settings area. Look for the “Steam Play” option, and click on it with the mouse to access the Steam Play settings.
Step 3: In the Steam Play settings, find the “Enable Steam Play for supported titles” box, and check it with the mouse. After that, select the “Enable Steam Play for all other titles” box to ensure that Steam Play will work with every single Steam game you own, even if Valve doesn’t officially support it.
Click on the “OK” button to save changes.
Step 4: Locate the “STORE” button and click on it with the mouse to access the Steam Storefront. Once there, find the search box and type in “Age Of Empires II (2013)”. Press Enter to search.
Look through the search results for “Age Of Empires II (2013),” and click on it to access the AoE II Steam Storefront page. Then, locate the “Add to Cart” button and click on it to purchase the game.
Step 5: After purchasing the game, find the “LIBRARY” button and click on it to access your Steam game library. Then, locate “Age Of Empires II (2013)” and select it to access its game page.
Step 6: On the Age Of Empires II (2013) game page, click on the blue “INSTALL” button to download Age Of Empires II (2013) to your computer. Keep in mind that this download may take a bit of time to complete.
Step 7: When Age Of Empires II (2013) is done downloading to your Linux PC, the blue “INSTALL” button will transform into a green “PLAY” button. Click on it to enjoy your game!
Troubleshooting Age Of Empires II (2013)
Thanks to Proton and Steam Play, a lot of video games run great and need no tweaking. However, no Linux operating system is 100% the same, and no video game is 100% perfect. If you’re running Age Of Empires II (2013) and are having issues, please check out the Age Of Empires II (2013) ProtonDB page. You’ll be able to submit issues you find and troubleshoot your game based on the submissions of other users playing the game.
