How to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Linux
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an action RPG game, developed by the game company CD Projekt RED. It’s the third entry in a trilogy of video games based on the fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowsi. It follows the protagonist Geralt of Rivia as he hunts down a monster known as a witcher. The game came out in 2015 on PC, Xbox One, and PS4 to massive success, earning dozens of awards. Wild Hunt never received official Linux support, unfortunately. So, if you want to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Linux, you’ll need to rely on workarounds like Wine or SteamPlay. In this guide, we’ll go over both of those methods.
Method 1: SteamPlay/Proton
If you prefer to get your video games through Steam, it is possible to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Linux through Valve’s “SteamPlay” technology. To start the installation process, install the latest version of Steam for Linux on your distribution.
Note: unsure about how to install Steam on Linux? Head over to this page on Pkgs.org. Then, look through the list for the operating system you currently use to learn how to install it.
After setting up Steam for Linux, log into your account (or create a new one here). Then, locate the “Store” button and click on it to access the Steam Storefront.
On the Steam Storefront, find the search box, and click on it. Then, type “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” into it, and press the Enter key to run a search.
Look through the search results on the Steam storefront, and click on “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” to go to its page on Steam. Select “Add to cart” to purchase the game.
With the game purchased, you must enable “SteamPlay” in the Linux Steam app. To enable “SteamPlay,” follow our guide here. Be sure to enable it for all titles!
When you’ve enabled “SteamPlay” in Steam on Linux, find the “Library” button at the top and click it to go to your games. From there, search for “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” and click the “Install” button to set it up on your Linux PC.
When the installation of the game is complete, find the blue “Play” button, and click on it to enjoy The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Linux!
Troubleshooting – SteamPlay/Proton
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has a “Platinum” rating on ProtonDB. Many users have reported the game and their experiences, and most have been positive, though, keep in mind that some haven’t been. The game isn’t perfect on Linux 100% of the time. If you run into problems playing this game with SteamPlay, be sure to check ProtonDB for troubleshooting purposes.
Method 2: Wine
CD Projekt RED is known for taking a stance against digital rights management in video games. As a result, they’ve worked very closely with GOG.com to offer The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt without DRM (this means Steam). As a result, Wild Hunt runs very good with Wine on Linux.
Getting Witcher 3 working with Wine starts by installing the latest version of the runtime. So, head over to our guide and learn how to set up Wine on your Linux PC. For best results, be sure to get at least version 4.0.
After installing the latest Wine to your Linux PC, the next step in the setup process is to download the game from the internet. Head over to GOG.com, and create a new account on the website.
Once you’ve created an account on the website, find the search icon at the top right and search for “Witcher 3”. Then, click on “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” in the results to go to its page on GOG.com. On the Wild Hunt GOG page, find the “Add to cart” button, and click it to purchase the game.
When the game has been purchased, find your profile icon, and click on it. Then, select “Games.” From there, find “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” and click on it to access the game in your library.
Inside the “Wild Hunt” page on your library, select “Download offline backup game installers” to download the game to your Linux PC.
With The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt finished downloading to your Linux PC, open up the file manager, and click on “Downloads.” Then, locate the Wild Hunt installer EXE, and right-click on it. Select “Open in Wine Windows Program Loader” to launch the installer.
Go through the GOG.com installer to set up The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on your Linux PC. When the installer is done, close it. You should then be able to launch the game via the shortcut on your desktop. Have fun!
Troubleshooting – Wine
Wild Hunt works pretty good in Wine, but not flawlessly. You may run into some problems playing this game on Linux, especially if you run an older version of Wine. Be sure to head over to the game’s WineHQ page for help troubleshooting your issues.
