Game Pass on Linux is one step closer. Xodus, an open-source project from the Heroic Games Launcher team, has Xbox sign-in and game downloads working; the part that launches the games is still in progress.
Xodus is a reverse-engineering effort to run Microsoft’s Xbox PC games, Game Pass titles included, on Linux and macOS. It is run by three contributors, one of them behind Heroic, the launcher many Linux and Steam Deck users already use for Epic and GOG libraries. It is not affiliated with Microsoft.
The work so far covers the parts of the Xbox PC stack most people never see: authentication, token exchange, licence acquisition, and the MSIXVC package format modern Xbox titles ship in, which Xodus can download and decrypt. The project’s own demo shows a library of Game Pass titles — Forza Horizon 5, Starfield, Halo Infinite among them — listed as running on Linux via its patched Proton fork, codenamed Proton-XO.
| Milestone | Status |
|---|---|
| Xbox sign-in and authentication | Working |
| Game downloads and licences | Working |
| MSIXVC package decryption | Working |
| Launching games (Xbox Gaming Runtime) | In progress |
The next milestone is the hard one. Xbox PC games expect a runtime on the machine that handles achievements, multiplayer and cloud saves, and Xodus is reimplementing that component, xgameruntime.dll, to run under Wine. It has already published its own patched Wine and Proton forks. Developer Pawel Lidwin told Digital Foundry the team has “figured out authorisation and game downloads”, adding: “We are still very much WIP… still relatively far from what we are trying to achieve.”
No Game Pass game runs on Linux through Xodus yet, and when that changes, not every title will follow. The target is newer games built on Microsoft’s Game Development Kit in the MSIXVC format; the older UWP era is out of scope, and individual titles still depend on how well they run under Wine, DXVK or VKD3D-Proton, as VideoCardz reports.
The project could inherit a second catalogue. Microsoft brought the first four original Xbox games to PC this year through its own compatibility layer, with a leaked roadmap pointing to more later this year and Xbox 360 games in 2027. If those ship through the same Xbox PC infrastructure, they are natural targets for Xodus — the developers have not confirmed it.
Steam Deck owners have a stake in this too. The Deck runs Linux, and Game Pass is one of the few big libraries it cannot touch, even as Proton keeps expanding what runs on it. If Xodus succeeds, Xbox PC games stop being Windows-only.
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What is Xodus?
Xodus is an open-source project that aims to make Xbox PC and Game Pass games run on Linux and macOS. It is run by a small team that includes a developer from Heroic Games Launcher, and is not affiliated with Microsoft.
Does Xbox Game Pass work on Linux yet?
Not through Xodus. Sign-in, downloads and licence checks work, but games cannot launch until the project finishes reimplementing Microsoft’s Xbox Gaming Runtime for Wine.
Will all Xbox PC games run on Linux?
No. Xodus targets newer GDK-based titles in the MSIXVC format; older UWP games are not the focus, and each game still depends on how well it runs under Wine, DXVK or VKD3D-Proton.
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