How to play Fallout: New Vegas on Linux
Fallout: New Vegas is a post-apocalyptic open-world RPG developed by Obsidian and published by Bethesda. It’s widely considered one of the best games in the Fallout series by fans.
The Fallout games (both 2D and 3D) generally work pretty well on Linux, including New Vegas. Here’s how to play Fallout: New Vegas on Linux.
Method 1 – SteamPlay
Valve’s SteamPlay is quickly becoming the best way to play Windows games on Linux. The reason for this is that the technology is so automated, that users hardly have to anything to get even some of the most high-end games to work!
Fallout: New Vegas has always worked pretty well on Linux, but ever since SteamPlay has been a thing, it’s been easier than ever to get the game working on any Linux distribution.
Purchase Fallout: New Vegas for Steam
Before dealing with Fallout: New Vegas and how to make it playable on Linux via SteamPlay, you’ll need to purchase the game. To get your copy of the game, ensure you have a Steam account and click here to go to FNV’s store page.
Note: don’t have a Steam account? Click here to make one!
On the FNV store page, locate the “Add to Cart” button and click it to make your purchase. Currently, the game is 9.99 USD.
Install Steam on Linux
Playing Steam games on Linux requires installing the client on Linux. In this section of the guide, we’ll go over how to install the Steam client on Linux
Press Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard to open up a terminal. Then, follow the command-line instructions that correspond with your Linux OS.
Ubuntu
sudo apt install steam
Debian
cd /tmp wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steam.deb sudo dpkg -i steam.deb sudo apt-get install -f
Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S steam
Fedora
To install Steam, you must enable RPMFusion. To do this, follow our guide on the subject. Then, use Dnf to install Steam.
sudo dnf install steam
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install steam
Enable SteamPlay on your Linux PC
Playing Fallout: New Vegas via Steam on Linux requires enabling SteamPlay with games that don’t officially support SteamPlay yet. To do this, open up “Settings” in your Steam app, click “Steam Play,” and click the box next to “Enable Steam Play for supported titles.”
Can’t figure out how to enable SteamPlay on your Linux PC? Check out our guide on how to enable SteamPlay on Linux!
Install the game – Steam
Installing FNV on Steam works like any other game in your library. To do it, launch the app as normal. Then, click “Library,” and look for “Fallout: New Vegas” in your game library. Then, click the blue “Install” button to download and install it on Linux.
Play on Linux – Steam
Playing Fallout: New Vegas on Steam requires very little effort. To play the game, click on “Library” and look for the game in the list of games you own. Then, click the blue “Play” button to enjoy Fallout: New Vegas!
Method 2 – GOG and Wine
If you’re not a fan of Valve’s Steam but still want to enjoy Fallout: New Vegas on Linux, try the GOG method. It doesn’t require any proprietary app stores like Steam, and you’ll still get the same game.
Purchase Fallout: New Vegas from GOG.com
To play FNV on Linux via Wine, you’ll need to purchase the game from Good Old Games. As of now, the website has the “ultimate edition,” which comes with all downloadable content, and other cool things. If you’d like to get a copy of the game through GOG, click here to go to the game’s store page.
Once you’ve made it to the FNV store page, click “Add to cart” to buy the game. Currently, the ultimate edition, with all the DLC is 19.99 USD.
Install the latest release of Wine
Running FNV on Linux requires the latest version of Wine. Any version of Wine should be enough to get FNV working. However, it’s probably best to install Wine version 4, as it comes with DXVK and many other optimizations that prove to make Windows gaming on Linux much better.
Installing Wine 4 is easy to do on most Linux distributions at this point, as it’s the current version on most modern Linux operating systems. However, if your Linux PC doesn’t have version 4 available, follow our guide to learn how to install version 4 of Wine on your Linux computer.
Don’t want to use Wine 4? Another good option to get Fallout: New Vegas working on Linux is to use the Wine Staging branch, as it regularly gets updates and improvements. For more information on Wine Staging, check this post.
Install the game – Wine
To install FNV on Linux, open up the Linux file manager. Then, find the “Downloads” folder and click on it. Next, double-click on the Fallout EXE setup files to launch it in wine.
Using the GOG installer, install the game on your system. Assuming you’re running a relatively recent version of Wine, the installer should work with no issues. When it’s done, close it, and the game will be set up on your Linux PC!
Play on Linux – Wine
To start up FNV via Wine on your Linux PC, open up your application menu and locate the “Wine” section. In this area, you should see a Fallout icon which you can double-click on to launch the game. Or, alternatively, double-click on the FNV icon on your desktop to enjoy!
