Can you play Payday 3 on Linux?

Payday 3 is a new entry in the Payday video game franchise. It is a direct sequel to the second game and is available to play right now via its closed beta test on the PC and Xbox Series X/S. With the rising popularity of Linux as a desktop operating system, many players have been curious as to whether the game is supported by it.

Thankfully, it seems that users of this OS can also join in on the fun during the closed beta test. Curious readers can read on further to learn more.

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Payday 3 runs on Linux on Day 1, with some minor tweaking

Running the game on Linux, with the MnagoHud overlay on a Steam Deck

According to multiple reports on both Reddit and ProtonDB, Payday 3 is perfectly playable on Linux. The closed beta test version of the game, however, does not work out of the box. Players will need to follow these steps to get it up and running on their Linux desktop:

1. The game will fail to boot right out of the box, showing an error involving a missing Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime. Players will need to install a Windows program, the vcrun2022 library, to fix this.

2. To do this, install ProtonTricks. This can be accomplished by either using Flatpak or by installing it from sources like the AUR.

3. Add Payday 3 to ProtonTricks (the game ID for the closed beta test version is 2478210).

4. Select the default prefix as Proton Experimental, and install the component “vcrun2022.”

5. Simply boot up the game as usual from Steam after the previous steps have been completed.

The game should now work perfectly with no issues.

A fix that allows the game to run without presenting any errors on Linux on Day 1 has been scheduled to be pushed upstream in the Proton Experimental channel and is due to release soon. The steps above will likely not be needed in the future.

Furthermore, this version of Payday 3 is not indicative of the final version. As such, the game may not work on Linux upon official release — but this is rather improbable. Given almost all of Microsoft’s Game Pass titles run on that OS just fine, this title is very likely to see the same result.

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Payday 3 is a soon-to-be-released first-person shooter game from developers Overkill Software and Starbreeze Studios. This sequel to Payday 2 follows the latter's campaign, bringing its cast back together in the mid-2020s. It offers gameplay upgrades and quality-of-life changes to ensure the authentic Payday experience for a newer generation of hardware.

This game is set to be released worldwide on September 21, 2023, for the PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. A closed beta test is available for computer and Xbox Series X/S players at the time of writing.