Xodus: New Project to Run Xbox Games on Linux

The developers of Heroic Launcher, a popular tool among Linux users, have introduced Xodus—a new open-source initiative designed to run Xbox PC games and Game Pass titles on Linux platforms. The core issue lies in the dependency on Microsoft's proprietary Game Development Kit (GDK), which handles license verification and Xbox service interactions. Without GDK, games either fail to launch or crash immediately after startup.

Xodus targets modern games built with GDK and MSIXVC packages, not older UWP-based releases. The project has already implemented critical features, including Xbox service authentication, game package downloads, and license verification. This is achieved through custom library implementations like xgameruntime.dll and modified versions of Wine and Proton. Additionally, the team developed the xal-rs library in Rust to handle Xbox authentication.

The next milestone involves emulating the Xbox Gaming Runtime via Wine, enabling local game launches. Given the team's progress, Game Pass support on Linux could arrive soon. Similar technologies are already used in the BedrockonLinux 2.0 project for running Minecraft Bedrock on Linux, validating the approach's feasibility.

Microsoft recently released four classic Xbox titles on PC, with plans to bring Xbox 360 games to the platform. However, it remains unclear whether these projects use the same GDK environment as modern Xbox PC games. If not, they may be easier to run on Linux.