How to play No Man’s Sky on Linux

No Man’s Sky is an expansive survival game set in a massive universe, filled with different planets and star systems to explore. The object of the game is to explore the vast universe in your spaceship, colonize various planets you discover, and build things.

The game never had a Linux release, and the developers haven’t ever talked about Linux support. However, because of evolving technology in Steam and Wine, it is now possible to play No Man’s Sky on Linux. Here’s how to get it running.

Method 1 – SteamPlay and Proton

If you have a Steam account, the easiest way to play No Man’s Sky on Linux, is with SteamPlay and Proton. According to the ProtonDB page on the game, there isn’t any serious bugs or issues preventing it from running on Linux with Valve’s incredible Windows runtime technology.

To start the process, you must get a copy of No Man’s Sky from the Steam store if you do not already own the game. It is USD 59.99.

To purchase No Man’s Sky on Steam, launch the client on the Linux desktop. After launching Steam, log into your account, and click the “Store” button. Then, find the search box, type in “No Man’s Sky,” and press the Enter key to show search results. Click on the game, add it to your cart and buy it. Or, if you prefer to purchase through a web browser, click this link here, log into your account on the website.

After you’ve purchased a copy of No Man’s Sky from Steam, open up Steam settings, click on “Steam Play,” and enable it for all titles, to allow No Man’s sky to be installed on Linux.

Note: need help enabling the SteamPlay feature in your Steam client on Linux? Follow our in-depth guide on how to set it up here.

Once SteamPlay is enabled on your Linux PC, click “Library” to go to your Steam games. Then, look through for “No Man’s Sky” and click the “Install” button to install it on Linux.

Let No Man’s Sky download to your Linux PC. When the downloading process is complete, click on the “Play” button to enjoy the game on Linux!

Troubleshooting

As stated before, the SteamPlay version of No Man’s Sky runs quite well. However, it does not have a perfect rating on ProtonDB. So, if you run into some problems while playing the game, be sure to refer to the No Man’s Sky page on the ProtonDB website for any fixes to problems you may encounter while enjoying the game.

Method 2 – Wine

If you’re not a fan of Steam on Linux, it is still possible to play No Man’s Sky on Linux with the help of the Wine runtime, and GoG.com. To start, head over to the GoG website, and create a new account.

After creating a new account on the website, find the “Store” button at the top and click it to go to the store area of GOG. Click on the “Search for..” box, and type in “No Man’s Sky.” Click on “No Man’s Sky” in the search results to go to the game’s store page.

On the store page, click on the “Add to cart” button. Then, click on the cart icon and purchase the game. Currently, the GOG release of No Man’s Sky is 50% off, at USD 29, instead of USD 59.99.

When you’ve purchased the game, go to your games library on GOG and download No Man’s Sky. Be sure to select the “Download Offline Backup Game Installers” option and not GOG Galaxy!

Setup Wine

Now that you’ve purchased No Man’s Sky from GOG, you must install the Wine runtime on your Linux PC so that the game will install. To install Wine, follow this guide here.

Install No Man’s Sky via Wine

Open up your Linux file manager, and click on the “Downloads” folder. Inside of “Downloads” locate the No Man’s Sky EXE installer, and right-click on it with the mouse.

In the right-click menu, select the option “Wine Windows Program Loader” to launch the installer on your Linux desktop.

Once the installer launches, you’ll see a small box that says “Select Setup Language.” Choose your preferred language and click the “OK” button to continue.

Following the language selection box, a welcome screen appears. Read the welcome screen. Then, check the “EULA” box, and click the “Install” button to set up No Man’s Sky on your Linux PC with Wine.

When the installation is complete, you can launch the game by clicking “Launch” in the installer. Or, double-click on the No Man’s Sky shortcut on the Linux desktop.

Troubleshooting

Running No Man’s Sky on Linux via Wine should be a pretty flawless experience. However, issues can happen. If you run into any problems while playing, be sure to ask for help at WineHQ.org.