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10mo ago

The penultimate list of Free Linux games, with over 100 titles!

This list is a little old, so some of the links may not work anymore, but overall it's still a pretty solid compendium for any budget concious Linux (or Windows) gamer!

Know of a game that should be added to the list? Leave a comment below! _^

Also check out:

The LibreGameWiki
GamingOnLinux's Free Game List
Itch.io's Free Linux Game Section
This collection of 500+ games packaged in the portable AppImage format
The Open-Source Game Clones Repository
Lee Reilly's Github Games List
The Linux Games Book

FPS

Name	Description	Open Source?
CS:GO	Counter Strike: Global Offensive, the premier online FPS [Free-to-Play]	No
Warfork	Fork of Warsaw to continue development, Cel-shaded Quake-like online FPS	CC-SA
Cube 2	Online Quake-like Arena FPS with multiple game modes & level editor	zlib
Assault Cube	Counterstrike-like FPS in the Cube engine	Freeware
Xonotic	Quake-like arena online FPS	GPL
FreeDoom	Open-source implemantation of Doom, best used with Chocolate Doom	Yes
Dystopia	Cyberpunk online class-based FPS	???
Urban Terror	Fast paced online FPS reminiscent of CS	???
OpenArena	Online arena FPS using the id tech engine	???
Fistful of Frags	Online Western FPS - Not as good as it used to be	???
Ravenfield	Singleplayer Battlefield type game	No
Alien Arena	Retro Sci-Fi Online FPS	???
Red Eclipse	Online FPS with parkour	SRC Available
ET Legacy	Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory for modern PCs	SRC Available
Team Fortress 2	Class-based online FPS with many game-modes to choose from (Not suitable for weak PC)	No
Team Fortress 2 Classic	Sick of hats, nerfs, and other changes to TF2? Than Classic is for you! TF2 Classic is a resurrection of what the game was like in 2013, with restored gamemodes, guns, and classes	No
Open Fortress	A total conversion of TF2 with unique characters, weapons, gamemodes, and maps!	No
Aleph One	Open Source implementation for Bungie's Marathon series	GPL
Double Action Boogaloo	Online 3rd-person shooter with slow motion	No
Ultrakill Prelude	Demo for an ultra violent oldschool FPS	No
OpenSpades	Clone of Ace of Spades 0.75, featuring fully destructible terrain and plenty of game modes	GPL
Blade of Agony	Story-driven FPS inspired by WWII shooters from the 90's and early 2000's - Extremely polished and fun	SRC Available

RPG

Name	Description	Open Source?
Daggerfall Unity	TES: Daggerfall recreated in the Unity engine with tons of improvements (Download the base game from here)	???
Solarus Games	Game engine for making Zelda-like games w/ many completed games available on their website	SRC Available
Flare	Isometric Diablo-like action-RPG	Creative Commons
Dungeon Master CSB	Modern Engine for the 1987 First-person dungeon crawler	???

Adventure

Name	Description	Open Source?
Beneath a Steel Sky	Classic point'n'click with great art and voice talent - Available in most distro's repos	Source Available
ScummVM's Freeware Games	Fantastic point'n'click games here, my favorite being Dreamweb	???
Aye Fair Lady	Point'n'click combined with a musical	No
Heroine's Quest	Excellent Point'n'Click/RPG hybrid inspired by the Quest for Glory series from Sierra	No
Black Sect 2	1st-person dungeon mystery game where you play as a monk investigating a crypt	No
Space Quest II Remake	Excellent VGA remake of SQ2 with voice acting, now available for Linux!	No

Strategy

Name	Description	Open Source?
FreeCiv	Sid Meier's Civilization II Clone	GPL
FreeCol	Sid Meier's Colonization Clone	GPL
UnCiv	Civlilization 5 style empire buillder	MPL 2.0
FreeOrion	Master of Orion Clone	GPL
OpenRA	Modern engine for C&C: Red Alert, Tiberian Sun, and Dune 2000	GPL
Tanks of Freedom	Turn-based strategy, similar to Advance Wars on the GBA	MIT
The Battle For Wesnoth	Turn-based fantasy RPG/Strategy hybrid	GPL
Hedgewars	Worms Clone	GPL
Argentum Age	Fantasy collectable card game	GPL
Wyrmsun	Warcraft II-like RTS	GPL
0 A.D.	Superb 3D RTS, professional grade (Not suitable for weak PC)	GPL
Total Annihilation Prime	Fan-made prequel to the 1999 RTS Total Annihilation	GPL
Zero-K	Polished RTS with multiplayer support, available on Steam	GPL
Warzone 2100	RTS that has campaign, multiplayer & singleplayer skirmish modes	GPL
Thrive	Game about the evolution of life	GPL
Scorched 3D	Turn-based & real-time artillery strategy game	GPL
UFO2000	X-Com-like with Multiplayer functionality	SRC Available
UFO: Alien Invasion	Turn-based tactical combat inspired by X-Com	SRC Available
OpenApoc	Open-source implementation of X-Com 3: Apocalypse	GPLv3
The Fertile Crescent	RTS set during the Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East. Manage a delicate balance between food surplus and the maintenance of your army - Multiplayer mode available	No
TripleA	Turn-based strategy and board game engine inspired by Axis & Allies or Risk	GPL
Star Ruler 2	Turn-based 4X/RTS Strategy space colonization game - This is a commercial game that was open-sourced, you must compile the game from source code to obtain it for free. Consider buying it on Steam or GOG to support the devs	MIT & CC-BY-NC
Beyond All Reason	Open-source remake of Total Annihilation, a Sci-fi RTS	GPL & CC-BY-SA

Side Scroller

Name	Description	Open Source?
Sealed Bite	Game-Jam platformer with nice pixel art	CC-BY-NC-ND
Mr. Rescue	Rescuing people from burning buildings while putting out fires	CC-BY-SA
Sienna	Fun runner/platformer	CC-BY-SA
Super Tux	Super Mario Clone - currently in need of help	GPL
Hurrican	2D Platformer Shooter Inspired by Turrican - Mostly forgotten	SRC Available
Abuse	Commercial 2D shooter turned Public Domain	SRC Available
Frogatto & Friends	Platformer with great music and graphics. Available in Debian/Ubuntu repos	No
Commander Keen 4	New engine for classic DOS-era platformer	GPL
OpenClonk	Commercial 2D Mining game turned freeware, very unique, multiplayer	ISC
Mari0	Mario, but with Portals!	SRC Available
Cave Story	Charming platformer, one of the first big indie hits	No
VVVVVV	retro platformer w/ level editor	SRC Available
Spelunky Classic	Roguelite platformer	No
OpenSurge	Sonic the Hedgehog clone with Level editor	GPL
Lost Constellation	Travel into the frozen woods in a folktale from the world of Night In The Woods	No
Himno	Peaceful 2D platformer game with an infinite number of beautiful procedurally generated maps	No

City Builder/Tycoon

Name	Description	Open Source?
OpenTTD	Clone of Transport Tycoon Deluxe	GPL
Unknown Horizons	Village builder inspired by the Anno series	GPL
Widelands	Settlers clone	GPL
Simutrans	Transportation simulator clone with multiplayer ability	SRC Available
Mindustry	Factory builder / Tower Defense hybrid	GPL
Terra Nil	Relaxing city builder about ecosystem reconstruction	No
Arcane Fortune	Inspired by Civilization, SimCity and Dwarf Fortress, Arcane Fortune is a game of empire building, diplomacy, conquest, construction, and deconstruction. Whether or not you build a utopia, or a hell on earth is entirely up to you	AGPL

MMO

Name	Description	Open Source?
Ryzom	Open-source MMO with a unique world [Free-to-Play]	Affero GPL
Isleward	Browser-based MMO Roguelike that's moddable & open-source!	LGPL

Roguelikes

Name	Description	Open Source?
Dwarf Fortress	Famous RL that has both a City-builder/management sim mode, as well as a more traditional RL experience in adventurer mode (you can even visit the ruins of fortresses you've built in the sim mode)	No
Roguebox Adventures	Graphical RL with focus on survival	GPL
Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead	Unique zombie survival RL that's quite thrilling to play	CC BY-SA
UnReal World	Crazy In-depth survival-sim RL based in iron age Finland	No
Dungeon Crawl Soup	Fairly standard RL to find the Orb of Zot	No
NetHack	Dungeon crawler RL continually updated since 1987	N-GPL
Brogue	RL distilled to fundamentals, terminal-like UI	No?
Tales of Maj'Eyal (ToME)	Very polished graphical-heavy RL/RPG	GPL
ASCII Sector	Excellent RL Demake of Wing Commander Privateer	No
ADOM (Ancient Domains of Mystery)	Extremely polished graphical RL with multiplayer	No
DoomRL	DOOM, but as a Roguelike!	No
Sil & Angband	Tolkien Roguelikes	SRC Available
Pixel Dungeon	RL with a nice pixel-art	GPL
HyperRogue	RL built on a mathematically rigorous hyperbolic surface, with an infinite and space-bending world	GPL
Basingstoke	Uniquely free to Linux users only. A tense roguelike that mixes stealth and arcade action. Explore the smouldering ruins of apocalyptic Basingstoke, UK, a world of extreme peril where reanimated undead and ferocious alien monsters roam!	No?

Space Sim/Trader

Name	Description	Open Source?
Ur-Quan Masters	Updated version of Star Control II. Be sure to get the Voice Pack! (Alternative HD version available here)	SRC Available
Endless Sky	2D space trading/combat game similar to Escape Velocity	GPL
Oolite	Elite remake, huge mod support	SRC Available
Pioneer	Frontier: Elite II Remake	GPL & CC BY-SA
Naev	Space exploration, trade and combat	???
Race Into Space	Re-implementation of 1989's Liftoff!	GPL

Puzzle

Name	Description	Open Source?
FloboPuyo	PuyoPuyo Clone	SRC Available
Frozen Bubble	Puzzle Bobble Clone with level editor & multiplayer	GPL
Duck Marines	Chu Chu Rocket Clone	Multi-License
Pingus	Lemmings Clone	SRC Available
Portable Puzzle Collection	39 Old-school puzzle games	MIT
Blockout2	3D Tetris-like Game	GPL
Enigma	Inspired by Oxyd on the Atari ST and Rock'n'Roll on the Amiga - The object of the game is to find uncover pairs of identically colored Oxyd stones	GPL
Lix	Action-puzzle game inspired by Lemmings with over 700 levels, multiplayer, and a level editor	CC0 Public Domain

Arcade / 2D

Name	Description	Open Source?
AstroMenace	Hardcore 3D space scroll-shooter with spaceship upgrade possibilities	GPL
Leapoundary	Arcade-y Puzzle Shooter	SRC Available
SSVOpenHexagon	Super Hexagon Clone	AFL
LBreakout2	Breakout Clone	Source Available
Witch Blast	Binding of Isaac Clone	GPL
TeeWorlds	Online 2D shooter	CC BY-SA
OpenTyrian	Polished Shmup with excellent visuals and music	SRC Available
Kobo Deluxe	8-Way space shooter	SRC Available
Altitude	2D online plane combat	No
Liero	Real-time Worms	SRC Available
Frets on Fire	Guitar Hero clone	GPL
Eat the Whistle	Sensible Soccer Clone	GPL
NeverBall	Super Monkey Ball Clone	GPL
NeverPutt	Mini-Golf with hot-seat multiplayer	GPL
Shootout Inc	If Hotline Miami and SuperHot had a baby, this would be the result. Also check out Super Hotline	No
Hammer Dongers	4-Player top-down party game	No
C-Dogs SDL	a classic overhead run-and-gun from the DOS era updated for modern systems, supports up to 4 players in co-op and deathmatch modes - Installer Downloads	GPL

Racing

Name	Description	Open Source?
SuperTuxKart	3D Kart Racer, similar to e.g. Mario Kart	Multi-License
Yorg	Top-down racer in the Micro Machine's style	No
Speed Dreams	Realistic racing sim	SRC Available
Max Downforce	F1 style arcade racing game inspired by Pole Position	SRC Available
Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart	Mario Kart style racer with characters from Sonic the Hedgehog	GPL
Pixel Wheels	Top-down 2D Racer similar to Micro Machines	CC BY-SA

Stealth

Name	Description	Open Source?
The Dark Mod	Incredible Fan-made spin-off of the Thief series using the Doom 3 Engine (Not suitable for weak PC)	GPL, BSD & CC BY-NC-SA

Sandbox

Name	Description	Open Source?
Minetest	Minecraft clone written in C++ instead of Java for better performance. Base game is purposefully lacking in features, instead relying on mods from the community to flesh out the experience	CC BY-SA
TrueCraft	Clean-room implementation of Minecraft 1.7.3	MIT
PyCraft	2D Terraria-like ASCII game played in the terminal	GPLv2
The Powder Toy	Complete physics and material simulaton sandbox in a 2D environment	GPLv3

Surreal

Name	Description	Open Source?
Orchids to Dust	Wandering alone on strange worlds	No
Off-Peak	Searching for a ticket in a head-trippy world	No
Emily is Away	Branching narrative in an online chat	No
CHYRZA	First-person flash-fiction horror story, explore a surreal desert while collecting fragments of a memoir	No
Dagdrom	Weird and colorful platformer thing	No
Naut	Explore mars in a convertible - Short little exploring game	No
Leive-Oma	Walk through the woods with your grandma	No
No Players Online	Short psychological horror	No
Out of The Game	The self claimed 'Inception' of video games	No
Sacramento	Explore a watercolor world	No
David Lynch Teaches Typing	It's exactly what it sounds like	No
A Museum of Dubious Splendors	Explore a storybook from the world of Somewhere. A visual feast for the eyes	No

Vehicle Combat

Name	Description	Open Source?
Warthunder	WWII to Cold War Multiplayer Dogfighter/Tanker/Warship Sim (Not suitable for weak PC) [Free-to-Play]	No

MOBA

Name	Description	Open Source?
Dota 2	Valve's entry into the MOBA genre, with native Linux support [Free-to-Play]	No

MS-DOS

Name	Description
Archive.org	Archive.org has uploaded over 6000 MS-DOS games to their library for future preservation, all fully playable for free right in your browser!

33 comments

Let us know when the ultimate list is ready.
- Lol yeah I don't think OP knows what penultimate means.
  
  It may have been the ultimate list 4 years ago, but I haven't updated it in so long I would've been embarrassed to call it the ultimate now :p
- I would say this is the Ultimate list. Older cataloging project and still updated to this day with ~>3900 entries. Hi @Le_bottin_des_jeux_linux@floss.social
  
  @PoorPocketsMcNewHold @str82L
  Thank you very much 🤗️
  
  Did you mean to include a link to this website?, If so, I added it to the top of the list in the other references.
  That's an incredible feat of cataloging, and blows my efforts out of the water. Hats off to them!

Good list. Covering many different categories. Have found every game I thought of. I like that the roguelikes listed are the actual, "classic" roguelikes. What I don't like: inclusion of the games that cost money to play (via in-game purchases). These should be at least marked as such, pretending they are free is not OK.
- Back when I created this list, I had the mindset that if I did include a game with the a Free to Play monetary model, it would only be eligible if it was absolutely not Pay to Win, and if it was possible to have a lot of fun without and be on a fully equal playing field spending a dime.
  Looking over the list again, I think you're right in that a couple titles (runescape, eledivin, and argueably EVE online) really don't meet that criteria.
  However, I think others such as CS:GO, TF2, and War Thunder still deserve a spot on the list, as you're still experiencing the full game with no disadvantage without spending anything.
  But I will remove those titles and put Free To Play in the description of the others.

free Linux games
budget
🙄
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
- Though I mention the monetary aspect, it doesn't mean I'm not fully aware of and advocate for the FOSS philosophy. I would've thought going to the extra effort of finding out what software license each and every title used, along with a direct link to the source code (which in some cases was not trivial to find) would've made that much obvious.
  
  I would've thought ... would've made that much obvious.
  Using the word "free" to refer to proprietary games in a GNU/Linux context is a huge indicator of a lack of awareness. I wouldn't look further.
  finding out what software licence each and every title used, along with a direct link to the source code
  FYI, the page you linked to isn't publicly accessible. When I try to look, Reddit demands that I log in and doesn't present the page content.

Actually amazing list, thanks for sharing !

Awesome
Hoping I'll find a good fps in this. Been looking for one for a while now. Most of them are basically fancy doom wads and quake clones. Might be able to find something of a more modern style.

Gross, reddit.
- Actually, now that you mention it, I should be able to post it here entirely. I'll see if I have enough space.
  EDIT: It fit! No more reddit! :D
  
  It's crazy af that a game from 1982 on archive.org is "access restricted".

A few personal recommendations here: Xonotic is the most engrossing quake clone I've ever played. The gameplay is fabulous and it would run on a potato. Definitely check it out if you like arena shooters.
Also people who bounced off FreeCiv for its somewhat dated mechanics (I believe it's most similar to Civ 2 in terms of gameplay), might enjoy Unciv. It's a FOSS porr of Civilization 5 and the last time I played it a few years back it appeared to be almost feature complete in terms of parity with its inspiration.
Lastly nethack is hard as nails and I've never been able to finish it. Good game though!
- Added UnCiv to the list, thanks for the suggestion! Plays really well on my phone, surprisingly.
  
  Yeah it's very good. Written in java so Android is a first class citizen but it runs well on desktop too.

Since you have Team Fortress 2 Classic im going to share Open Fortress
- Awesome suggestion! Added! :D

The space sim lidt seems to be missing Vega Strike.
- Dang, I remember playing that when I was 14 or so. Surprised to see it's still being developed. Looking at gameplay of the latest release... It still looks awfully janky still. Does it play well nowadays?
  
  Been a long time since I played it myself, but it was my first introduction to space sims.
  Development of the game picked up again just a year or so ago, after a long time of hiatus.
  Yeah, the game looked nice over 15 years ago, but the graphics haven't updated at all, so the visuals are incredibly dated. Gameplay is still quite solid, though, and the background simulation aspect of the game is still on-par with Elite Dangerous, so I'd say it's a pretty good choice if someone is looking for a FOSS space sim.

33 comments