Xbox PC games and PC Game Pass have long been the one big gap in Linux gaming, and a fan-made project called Xodus is trying to close it. Built by developers connected to the third-party Heroic Games Launcher, Xodus is an open-source reverse-engineering effort aimed at making Microsoft’s Xbox PC titles run locally on Linux and Mac instead of only through cloud streaming.
Quick answer: Xodus can already sign into your Xbox account, check game licenses, and download and decrypt game packages, but it cannot launch those games on Linux yet. The part that actually runs the games is still being built.
What Xodus is and who is building it
Xodus is a small open-source project staffed by three contributors, including a developer who works on the Heroic Games Launcher. The goal is narrow and specific. It handles everything needed to get Xbox PC games, including Game Pass titles, running outside of Windows.
The project describes itself plainly on its own page: an effort to make Xbox PC games run on Linux and Mac systems, with no affiliation or endorsement from Microsoft. It maintains its own Wine fork with patches tailored to the project, and work on Xbox runtime components is happening both inside and outside the main organization.
What works now and what is still missing
The early plumbing is done. Xodus can log into the Xbox sign-in system, verify which games a user owns or has access to, and pull down the actual game files. It can also download and decrypt Microsoft’s MSIXVC packages, the container format used to distribute games through the Microsoft Store.
Developer imLinguin confirmed that authorization and game downloads are working, with development now shifting to the game SDK required to actually run titles. In practice, that means you can fetch a game today, but it will not start yet.
The hard part still ahead is recreating enough of the Xbox Gaming Runtime and the related GDK services so that games can launch through Wine. GDK covers the framework these titles use for Xbox integration such as achievements, multiplayer, and streaming. Another contributor, Pawel Lidwin, has been blunt about the timeline, saying the team is still very much a work in progress and relatively far from its goal.
| Component | Status |
|---|---|
| Xbox account sign-in and license checks | Working |
| Game downloads | Working |
| MSIXVC package decryption | Working |
| Game SDK / GDK functionality | In development |
| Xbox Gaming Runtime for launching games | In development |
| PC Game Pass games playable locally | Not yet |
Which Xbox games Xodus targets
Xodus is aimed at newer Xbox PC games built with Microsoft’s GDK and packaged in the MSIXVC format. Older titles that rely on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) architecture are not part of the plan, at least at first. That split matters when you decide whether your library will benefit.
| Format | Supported? | Examples mentioned |
|---|---|---|
| GDK + MSIXVC (newer titles) | Targeted | Upcoming Gears of War: E-Day |
| UWP (Windows 8 / early Windows 10 era) | Not planned | Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 4 |
Even for supported games, compatibility still depends on the usual Linux stack. Wine, DXVK, and VKD3D-Proton all play a role, so individual games may need their own patches before they run cleanly. The team says it hopes to support most GDK titles, but each game is its own case.
Why this matters for Steam Deck and Steam Machine
Devices like the Steam Deck and the upcoming Steam Machine run Linux, and right now PC Game Pass only reaches them through Xbox Cloud streaming. Streaming needs a solid internet connection, adds latency, and never actually runs the game on your hardware. Xodus would let a supported game run locally, much closer to how any Windows game runs through Proton.
For people who keep most of their library inside a PC Game Pass subscription, that is the whole draw. It would remove one of the last reasons to keep a Windows install around on a Linux handheld or desktop.
The risks worth knowing
Xodus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, and the developers say to use it at your own risk. Because it is unofficial, Microsoft could break compatibility at any point or take action against accounts if it decides the project violates its terms of service. Microsoft is also unlikely to add Linux to its official ecosystem soon, so this is a community solution rather than a sanctioned one.
There is a longer-term possibility on the table too. Microsoft recently brought the first four original Xbox games to PC through a new compatibility layer, and if those and future back-compat releases use the same Xbox PC infrastructure, they could become another target for Xodus. The developers have not confirmed that support yet.
How to follow or contribute
If you want to help test or contribute code, the project’s repositories and Discord invite live on its GitHub organization page. Feedback and expertise are welcome while the runtime work continues.
For now, treat Xodus as a promising work in progress rather than a finished tool. The download and licensing side is real and working, but until the runtime pieces land, Xbox PC games and Game Pass titles still will not launch on Linux. It is worth keeping an eye on as the team moves toward the part that finally makes those games playable.