Forza Horizon 3 Linux Direct

For the sake of completeness, here is the high-level roadmap for playing FH3 via virtualization.

Note: This method is unstable and may break with every Wine update.

  • Vulkan runtime installed (vulkan-tools, vulkan-utils)
  • Steam (Linux) or Lutris, plus Wine/Proton (Proton-GE recommended)
  • 50+ GB free disk space (game + runtime/Windows components)
  • Optional: Xbox controller or wheel, and a valid Windows copy via Microsoft Store/Steam/Disc

    • You will need the Steam version of the game. The Microsoft Store version is significantly harder to get working on Linux and is not recommended. forza horizon 3 linux

    If you are missing audio (engine sounds, music):

    Forza Horizon 3 uses DirectX 12. Linux handles DX12 remarkably well via VKD3D-Proton. However, the translation layer can only work if the game launches. Since UWP prevents launch, VKD3D is irrelevant here. For the sake of completeness, here is the

  • For NVIDIA, enable “Prefer Maximum Performance” in driver settings for consistent clocks.
  • For AMD, ensure Mesa/RADV are up to date; enable ACO or AMD shader compiler if available.

    • If you are a tinkerer, there is a decades-old, barely maintained project called Wine-UWP. This was a fork designed to stub out the missing Windows Runtime APIs. Historically, it got the Forza Horizon 3 splash screen to appear before crashing.

    As of 2024, Wine-UWP is effectively dead. The last commits are from 2019. However, modern Wine (wine-9.0+) includes more WinRT work. Here is the theoretical process (with a 95% chance of failure): You will need the Steam version of the game

    Verdict: Do not waste your weekend. You will hit a "License Check Failure" because the Microsoft Store licensing DLLs (LicenseManager) are not implemented in Wine.