How to play GTA: Vice City on Linux

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City is the 6th entry in the GTA series by Rockstar Games. In the game, the player assumes the role of Tommy Vercetti, an Italian mafia associate working his way through the fictional Floridian town of Vice City.

GTA: Vice City was released in 2002 on PC and other platforms. Unfortunately, Linux is not one of the platforms the game was released on. As a result, if you want to enjoy this game on your favorite Linux distribution, you must follow along with our guide.

Note: Vice City is not an HD game. If you would like to run the game in 1080p/Widescreen mode, try installing this free widescreen modification once the game is installed. You can also play other editions of GTA on Linux i.e., GTA 4 and GTA 5.

Getting GTA: Vice City working

The best way to get GTA: Vice City working on Linux is through Steam and Valve’s Steam Play feature. The reason? Steam Play creates a runtime for Vice City automatically using Linux tools like Proton and Wine. A runtime that users would otherwise have to set up manually.

To start the installation of GTA: Vice City via Steam Play, you will need to install the Linux Steam client. Open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, follow the command-line installation instructions outlined below that corresponds with your distribution.

Ubuntu

sudo apt install steam

Debian

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

Sadly, Fedora does not carry the Steam client in their software sources. If you’re a Fedora user, please follow the Flatpak instructions instead.

OpenSUSE

Are you using OpenSUSE Linux? Please follow the Flatpak instructions to get the Steam client up and running.

Flatpak

It is possible to install the Steam client on Linux via Flatpak. To start the installation, ensure you have the Flatpak runtime enabled on your system by following this guide on the subject. Then, enter the commands below.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

flatpak install flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam

Install GTA: Vice City

With the Linux Steam client set up, follow the step-by-step instructions outlined below to get GTA: Vice City working on your Linux PC.

Step 1: Open up the Steam Linux client by searching for it in the app menu on your desktop system. Then, log into your Steam account with your username and password.

Step 2: With the Steam app logged in, locate the “Steam” menu at the top of the app and click it. Then, select the “Settings” option in the menu to access Steam’s settings area.

In the Steam settings area, find the “Steam Play” section, and enable the feature. Be sure also to check the box next to “Enable Steam Play for all other titles.” By checking this box, Steam Play will provide support for all of the video games in your Steam library, and not just official ones in the Proton list provided by Valve.

Step 3: Close the “Settings” window by pressing “OK,” followed by “Cancel.” Then, locate the “Store” button in the Steam, app, and click it. Then, once on the Steam Store page, find the search box and click on it with the mouse.

Type out “GTA Vice City” in the search box. Then, press the Enter key to start a search on the Steam Store for GTA Vice City.

Step 4: Select “GTA Vice City” in the search results to go to the Vice City store page. Then, purchase the game with your Steam account and preferred payment method.

Step 5: Once you’ve purchased Vice City, find the “Library” button at the top of Steam to navigate to your collection of Steam games.

Step 6: Inside of the “Library” area of Steam, find the search box and click on it with the mouse. Then, type in “Vice City” into the search box.

Upon typing “Vice City,” Steam should instantly show the game in the search results. Select it with your mouse to access the GTA: Vice City game page in your library.

Step 7: Locate the blue “INSTALL” button and select it with the mouse. By clicking on the “INSTALL” button, Steam will begin downloading the Windows version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City to your Linux PC. Be patient during this download; Vice City is a couple of gigabytes in size.

Step 8: When Vice City is done downloading, the blue “INSTALL” button will turn into a green “PLAY” button. Select it with the mouse to start up the game.

Upon selecting the green “PLAY” button, Steam will inform you that it needs to set up Vice City with the Steam Play tool. Click the “Continue” button to allow it to configure the game.

When Steam is done configuring Steam Play, Vice City will launch, and you’ll be ready to play. Enjoy!

Troubleshooting

GTA: Vice City is an older game, so it should be no issue getting everything working just fine through Steam Play. Still, issues can arise. If you’re trying to get the game to run only to find that problems come up, check out ProtonDB! It’s a great way to troubleshoot the game!