Lutrisvs
Steam
Steam: If most of your library is on Steam, its built-in compatibility layer needs no extra software
Lutris
Open source Linux game manager built around community install scripts and Wine runner management
As of 31 August 2026, Lutris is free to use. The long-standing Linux launcher that installs and runs games from Steam, GOG, Epic, Amazon, Battle. Softwr lists it under Gaming. Lutris is available on Linux.
Overview
What Lutris does
Lutris manages games on Linux. It handles multiple sources in one library, downloads and manages Wine and Proton builds, and installs non-native games using scripts that specify the exact runner version, dependencies and configuration a given title needs. It also catalogues emulators and native Linux games, so one interface covers a mixed collection. The install script model is what makes Lutris work and what limits it. A community member works out the configuration that makes a Windows game run under Wine and publishes it as a recipe; everyone else installs the game in one click. That is a genuinely effective way to distribute hard-won configuration knowledge, and it is also fragile. Recipes reference specific runner versions and download locations, and when a game updates, a dependency moves or the author stops maintaining it, the recipe rots and the one-click install fails in a way that is difficult for a new user to diagnose. Users are Linux desktop players, particularly those with games outside Steam, since Steam ships its own compatibility layer. The trade-off is that Lutris is a power user tool that presents a simple interface. When it works it is one click, and when it does not, fixing it means understanding Wine prefixes, runner versions and DLL overrides. Anti-cheat is a separate wall entirely and no launcher gets past it.
What people use it for
- A Linux desktop user with a GOG or Epic library that Steam compatibility does not cover
- Running an older Windows game that needs a specific Wine build and configuration
- Keeping emulators and native Linux games in one launcher rather than several
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Lutris.
- It runs on Linux only, so it is irrelevant to the large majority of players and offers nothing to a Windows household.
- Install scripts are community-maintained and rot without warning, so a game that installed in one click last year can fail today with an error that means nothing to a new user.
- Diagnosing a failure requires understanding Wine prefixes, runner versions and library overrides, which is a substantial amount of knowledge for what is presented as a launcher.
- Runner version management is manual and the naming is opaque, so users end up with several multi-gigabyte Wine builds and no clear idea which game needs which.
- Multiplayer titles with kernel-level anti-cheat will not run regardless of configuration, and no amount of work in Lutris changes that.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Lutris
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- LutrisvsGOG
GOG: If you want DRM-free installers that are far easier to run under Wine than store-locked releases
- LutrisvsEpic Games Store
Epic Games Store: If Epic titles are your only reason for looking, a dedicated Epic client on Linux is a simpler route
Pricing
What Lutris costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Lutris
Free
- Full functionality
- No account required for local use
- Community install scripts free
- Community support
Capabilities
Features
Community install scripts
Per-game recipes specifying runner version, dependencies and configuration
Wine and Proton management
Multiple runner builds installed side by side and assigned per game
Multi-source library
Steam, GOG, Epic, Amazon, Battle.net, itch.io and native Linux titles in one list
Emulator support
Console emulators managed and launched from the same interface
Per-game configuration
Isolated prefixes, environment variables and launch options for each title
Native Linux packaging
Available through distribution repositories and Flatpak
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Do I need Lutris if I use Steam on Linux?
Not for Steam games, which Steam handles with its own compatibility layer. Lutris is for everything outside Steam.
Why did a game that used to work stop working?
Usually the install script or the runner it referenced changed. Check the script page for the game and whether anyone has updated it recently.
Will it run games with anti-cheat?
Often not. Kernel-level anti-cheat blocks Linux regardless of the launcher, and this is a publisher decision rather than a technical gap in Lutris.
Keep looking
Where to go from Lutris
- Lutris alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Lutris pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Lutris badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Gaming softwareThe full category
- Best Gaming softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Gaming software for
Compare Lutris with
- Steam
- Epic Games Store
- GOG
- Heroic Games Launcher
- Playnite
- RetroArch
- GOG Galaxy
- Battle.net
- Ubisoft Connect
- Nvidia GeForce Now
- Roblox
- Fanatical
- Green Man Gaming
- Fortnite
- Heroic Games Launcher
- Playnite
- GOG Galaxy
- Fanatical
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Free plan8 researched notesOpen source client for Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries on Linux, Windows and macOS
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Open source11 researched notesFree optional client from CD Projekt that aggregates other storefronts and keeps GOG downloads DRM-free
Free plan11 researched notesBlizzard game launcher and store, now owned by Microsoft, for a small first party catalogue
Free plan11 researched notesUbisoft launcher, rewards programme and the Ubisoft+ subscription
Free plan11 researched notesCloud gaming that streams games you bought elsewhere, when the publisher allows it
Free, then $9.99/mo11 researched notesA user-generated games platform running on Robux, not a single game, with a developer payout system and a marketplace cut
Free plan9 researched notesAuthorised key store built around build your own bundles of mostly Steam titles
Free plan11 researched notesAuthorised key reseller with direct publisher agreements and a loyalty discount programme
Free plan11 researched notesFree to play battle royale and creative platform funded by V-Bucks, skins and a seasonal battle pass
Free plan8 researched notesOpen source client for Epic, GOG and Amazon libraries on Linux, Windows and macOS
Open source11 researched notesOpen source Windows library manager that pulls every storefront into one browsable collection
Open source11 researched notesFree optional client from CD Projekt that aggregates other storefronts and keeps GOG downloads DRM-free
Free plan11 researched notesAuthorised key store built around build your own bundles of mostly Steam titles
Free plan11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Lutris, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Lutris
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Lutris pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
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