This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Read More
If you are a Linux gamer, you know the feeling. You look at your Steam library, full of incredible Windows titles, and wonder, "Can I run this on my favorite distro?"
For a long time, Forza Horizon 3 was considered one of the "holy grails" of gaming on Linux—an incredibly demanding, anti-cheat-heavy title that simply refused to cooperate with Wine or Proton. But thanks to the tireless work of the Valve and Wine developers, the landscape has changed.
If you want to cruise the Australian outback from the comfort of your Ubuntu, Arch, or Fedora installation, here is everything you need to know about getting Forza Horizon 3 running on Linux.
Before diving into commands, you must understand the enemy: UWP.
Most Windows games are classic Win32 applications. They talk directly to the hardware, and Wine/Proton translates those system calls to Linux system calls very efficiently. UWP, however, was designed for Windows 8/10's sandboxed ecosystem. UWP apps are packaged (.appx, .eappx), signed by Microsoft, and rely on a complex runtime environment. forza horizon 3 linux
Forza Horizon 3 was one of the first AAA titles to leverage UWP. This means:
.exe file you can simply point Wine at.Because of this, Forza Horizon 3 is not available on Steam, nor will it ever be (licensing for the cars has expired). Therefore, the "Steam Proton" magic that works for Forza Horizon 4 and 5 (which have native Steam Win32 builds) does not apply to FH3.
You may need to add specific launch options to the game in Steam to improve performance. Right-click the game > Properties > General > Launch Options.
Try adding this if you are experiencing stuttering:
PROTON_NO_ESYNC=1 PROTON_NO_FSYNC=1 %command% How to Play Forza Horizon 3 on Linux:
Disabling esync/fsync can stabilize the game, though you lose some performance benefits of newer Proton versions.
It is worth noting why Linux users get confused. Forza Horizon 4 and Forza Horizon 5 run beautifully on Linux via Steam Proton (Gold/Platinum on ProtonDB). Why?
Because Microsoft released those titles as standard Win32 applications on Steam. The Steam version of FH4/FH5 doesn't use UWP; it uses the traditional exe architecture. Valve and CodeWeavers optimized Proton specifically for those executables.
Forza Horizon 3 never got that Steam release. It is trapped in the UWP ecosystem forever. The Great UWP Barrier Before diving into commands,
Many Windows games on Linux do not handle losing focus well when in fullscreen mode.
Forza Horizon 3 remains a high-water mark for the arcade-racing genre. Released in 2016 by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios, its sun-drenched Australian outback, seamless multiplayer, and "Barn Find" mechanics set a standard that modern sequels still chase.
However, for the dedicated Linux user, there is a persistent question: Can I replace Windows with Linux but still drive a Lamborghini Centenario through Surfers Paradise?
The answer is complex, historical, and surprisingly hopeful. Unlike native Steam titles or even Windows-only games on Steam, Forza Horizon 3 is a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) title. It was sold exclusively via the Microsoft Store. This presents a unique challenge for Wine, Proton, and Lutris.
In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the history of FH3 on Linux, the technical hurdles of UWP, the current state of emulation vs. translation, and the step-by-step methods to (potentially) get the game running in 2024.
Most gamers forget this, but in 2018, Microsoft relented. They released Forza Horizon 3 on Steam. This is not a UWP app. It is a standard Win32 application, which Linux tools handle beautifully.