A new open-source project from developers associated with the Heroic Games Launcher is working on something Linux gamers have wanted for years: a way to play Xbox PC games without installing Windows.
The project, called Xodus, is still in its early stages. It does not run Xbox games yet, but the developers have already solved several difficult parts of Microsoft’s PC gaming platform. Xodus can authenticate an Xbox account, check game licenses, download encrypted game packages and decrypt them.
The remaining challenge is getting those games to actually launch.
That makes Xodus more interesting than a typical compatibility project. It is not simply trying to make another Windows game work through Wine. It is attempting to reproduce the Xbox-specific software layer that Microsoft uses for games distributed through the Xbox app and PC Game Pass.
Modern Xbox PC games use Microsoft’s Game Development Kit, or GDK. They also rely on Xbox services for authentication and licensing, while games distributed through Microsoft’s store use the MSIXVC package format.
These dependencies are a major reason why Xbox PC games do not work on Linux in the same way as Steam games. Proton can translate many Windows APIs, but it does not provide Microsoft’s Xbox Gaming Runtime. Xodus is being built to fill that gap.
The developers have already figured out Xbox authentication and game downloads. The project can verify a user’s account and licenses, then download and decrypt the corresponding game packages. This means the project has moved beyond simply investigating Microsoft’s system and can now access the actual game files.
The next step is considerably harder. Xodus needs to implement the Xbox Gaming Runtime that the games expect to find when they start.
The project is working on an open-source implementation of xgameruntime.dll, along with a modified Wine/Proton environment and the Rust-based xal-rs library for Xbox authentication.
However, there is an important limitation. Xodus is targeting newer Xbox PC games that use Microsoft’s GDK and MSIXVC architecture. Older Microsoft Store games based on the previous UWP technology are not part of the current target. That means compatibility will depend heavily on how a game was built and distributed.
For example, a future Xbox PC game built around the newer GDK architecture could potentially work with Xodus. Older titles that use Microsoft’s previous platform may remain unsupported.
This also means Xodus is not replacing Proton. It is addressing a specific part of the Windows gaming ecosystem that Proton alone does not cover.
Microsoft is continuing to evolve its PC game technology as well. That could make the project a moving target, with new versions of the Xbox runtime and packaging system potentially requiring additional work.
The biggest opportunity is not necessarily individual Xbox games. It is PC Game Pass. Linux users can already play many Xbox games through Steam when Microsoft also releases them there. Proton has made the Steam library surprisingly accessible on Linux, including on devices such as the Steam Deck.
Microsoft’s own PC Game Pass library is different. Games distributed through the Xbox app are tied more closely to Microsoft’s Windows and Xbox services. On Linux, users generally cannot install those games locally. Cloud Gaming provides another option, but it streams the game rather than running it on the device.
Xodus is trying to remove that limitation. If the project eventually reaches a usable state, a Linux user could potentially sign into an Xbox account, download a compatible Game Pass game and run it locally. The project would not need to convince Microsoft to release a Linux version of its Xbox app.
The Steam Deck is one of the devices that could benefit from this work. Valve’s handheld runs SteamOS, which is based on Linux. Proton handles Windows games from Steam, but Microsoft’s PC Game Pass library has remained outside that local gaming experience.
Today, a Steam Deck owner wanting to use Game Pass without installing Windows is largely limited to cloud streaming. Xodus could eventually offer another option.
The project is not limited to the Steam Deck, however. Its goal is to support Linux more broadly, and the developers are also looking at macOS. That could make it useful on desktop Linux systems, gaming handhelds and future Linux-based gaming machines.
The Heroic Games Launcher already supports Linux, Windows, macOS and Steam Deck, and provides access to Epic Games, GOG and Amazon Games. Xodus is coming from the same broader development ecosystem and takes on a much harder problem.
Microsoft has not announced support for Xodus, and the project is an independent open-source effort.
For now, the important development is that Linux gamers are no longer starting from zero.
