Request: Please Consider Native Vulkan Support for FFXIV’s Future

[s32ialx]

More people need to see this

[RedLolly]

Yep I do not own the steam version and I do not plan to buy it and the expansions on it, so a native client would be a huge win for me

Oh. I didn't mean that you should all switch to Steam or SteamOS, only that it's probably already part-way there

But then Yoshi-P responded to the request for a Switch 2 port with "Please look forward to it." That's likely priority one if the devs are working on more systems to support.

[Loggos]

Yep I do not own the steam version and I do not plan to buy it and the expansions on it, so a native client would be a huge win for me

As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?

If they're just gonna wrap it in Wine as they've done with Mac, I'd rather them not do it at all. The game runs on steam deck already, steam machine should be no different. If you run the game through Steam you can just play on Linux out of the box. Otherwise just install Bottles and run the Windows installer in that without ever touching the terminal. Native Vulkan would be nice though since that would make the shader recompilation obsolete.

I only ever had a few issues with XIV on Linux, all launcher related and easily fixable. Lately they switched to WebView2 which you could opt-out of (Proton didn't support it yet, it does now), and then they added user agent screening which you could circumvent via settings. They fixed the last one the next day quoting steam deck as the target for the fix, so at this point I think it's safe to say SE is at least aware of their Linux / SteamOS user base. As long as they won't do anything to actively break the Linux support they just don't have to do anything.

I use Arch btw

Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )


Anyway, a native Linux launcher would also be cool for noobs and beginners like me who are still considering the switch or are in the process of figuring things out but want to play as soon as possible.

[ovIm]

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?

it is possible, yes. To do so, in your Steam Application, click on "Add a Game" on the lower left corner, locate your FFXIV launcher. Afterwards, right click the game, open its properties, and under compatibility, select "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool", and "Proton Experimental" in the drop down list.

I do agree that it is a bit more difficult to set up. If you want to make it easier on yourself, I recommend installing "Lutris" - its a launcher for all kinds of non-steam games. Through Lutris, you can directly install the official FFXIV client - no Steam or other secret sauce required. it sets up pretty much everything for you. that way, you don't have to use Steam to launch, and can keep your current service account.

[Alice_Rivers]

Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )

From what we know of SteamOS on the Deck and the Cube this should be an option available to you. If you search around for FFXIV on Linux you'll find guides for it.

[s32ialx]

I hope it's not too off-topic to ask this but since the discussion has kinda moved in this direction:

Is it possible to play FF14 via steam if you don't have the steam version?

I'm total a Linux beginner unfortunately. I have read (or misunderstood? lol) that you can choose some settings in Steam that let you run non-steam games/programs by adding them to your steam library (iirc that's one way to play Genshin on Linux?) but I haven't been able to figure out if and how I can add the non-steam version.

Also thinking of getting the steam machine and I would even re-buy the steam version if I have to. But I read it's a complete new service account and I wouldn't be able to use my old characters unlike the playstation - native launcer PC version compatibility that lets you play the same service account across platforms?




Is the bold part something I could do on the steam machine with the pre-installed steam os? (This is probably a very silly question but I genuinely don't know. orz )


Anyway, a native Linux launcher would also be cool for noobs and beginners like me who are still considering the switch or are in the process of figuring things out but want to play as soon as possible.

There is a way to play XIV with a 3rd party launcher on linux without steam. You can also play with steam without owning it on steam, however I do not know if this method STILL works, but you used to beable to install the free trial version of FFXIV and do a lil fukery and then you can login with your main mogstation bought account and use the free trial launcher to play on steam, I used to do that to track my hours like a decade ago.

[Greyhawk]

There is a way to play XIV with a 3rd party launcher on linux without steam.

This here is currently the answer, and NOT Lutris, if you also want to run something else (wink) alongside XIV. It's a flawless setup and Lutris installing it as a flatpak is just ass. The native client runs on Lutris great. 3rd party does not and should be done another way.

I play on Mint (not LMDE) only because LMDE doesn't have all the dependencies needed to play games. I'd prefer Debian based flavors because I'm a Debian fan, but the Fedora and Ubuntu versions seem to be a lot less of a headache for gaming. Arch based are great too, but I just have so much heartache with Wayland (thanks Nvidia, you suck) and I don't know the commands in Arch like I do others. I know Wayland is coming to replace X11, and hopefully my woes will be fixed when it does.

[s32ialx]

I know Wayland is coming to replace X11, and hopefully my woes will be fixed when it does.

I use RegataOS Arctic Fox on my Laptop and it's such an easy install to get XIV up and running without steam, but still would be nice for a native client.

Also Wayland has existed since 30 September 2008, which means it has been around for a little over 17 years as of 2026. It's actually already the default display system on most major Linux distributions, with X11 now treated as legacy. As of 2025, Wayland is effectively mainstream across modern desktops and compositors. Things have come so far ; . ;

[Larirawiel]

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.

They also lack of developers with rendering pipeline expertise. You can see tons of graphical glitches in many places.


Cheers

[Greyhawk]

I use RegataOS Arctic Fox on my Laptop and it's such an easy install to get XIV up and running without steam, but still would be nice for a native client.

Also Wayland has existed since 30 September 2008, which means it has been around for a little over 17 years as of 2026. It's actually already the default display system on most major Linux distributions, with X11 now treated as legacy. As of 2025, Wayland is effectively mainstream across modern desktops and compositors. Things have come so far ; . ;

Yeah I realize that, but in the distro I run, Wayland is still experimental and has been for quite a while. The Arch-based distros have it, and most others as well for sure. It's nice, but I also run an NVIDIA card, which will be my last now that I've gone completely Linux in my house. They are the cause of my woes with Wayland, and I can never recover my system if God forbid my monitor goes to sleep. AMD will be replacing my hardware the next go-around upgrade for us, as it plays a lot better with Linux, and not near the headaches.