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Part 9 – Gaming Library on Ubuntu

Use at your own risk. All guides and scripts are provided for educational purposes only. Always review and understand any code before running it — especially with administrative privileges. Test in a safe environment before using in production. Your system, your responsibility.

Linux gaming has come a long way. With Proton, most Windows games run on Ubuntu without any configuration — just install and play. This part sets up the complete gaming stack on the WCP machine, ready to be streamed via Sunshine to any device.

Prerequisites

  • ✅ Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with NVIDIA drivers
  • ✅ /mnt/games/ directory created with sufficient space
  • ✅ Sunshine installed (optional — see Part 8)

Step 1 – Enable 32-bit architecture

Many games require 32-bit libraries:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt update

Step 2 – Install Steam

Steam is available directly from the Ubuntu repositories:

sudo apt install -y steam-installer

Or download the .deb from store.steampowered.com:

wget https://cdn.cloudflare.steamstatic.com/client/installer/steam.deb
sudo apt install -y ./steam.deb

Launch Steam and log in with your account.

Step 3 – Enable Proton for Windows games

Proton lets you run Windows-only games on Linux with minimal setup.

In Steam:

  1. Go to Steam → Settings → Compatibility
  2. Enable “Enable Steam Play for all other titles”
  3. Select Proton Experimental (or the latest stable version)
  4. Click OK and restart Steam

Most games will now install and run via Proton automatically. Check ProtonDB for compatibility ratings before buying.

Step 4 – Move Steam library to /mnt/games

By default Steam stores games in ~/.steam. Move the library to the dedicated games partition:

  1. In Steam: Settings → Downloads → Steam Library Folders
  2. Click Add Library Folder
  3. Select /mnt/games/steam
  4. Set it as the default library
# Create the directory first
mkdir -p /mnt/games/steam

Step 5 – Install Heroic Games Launcher (Epic and GOG)

Heroic is an open-source launcher for Epic Games and GOG:

# Download latest AppImage from GitHub
wget https://github.com/Heroic-Games-Launcher/HeroicGamesLauncher/releases/latest/download/heroic-x86_64.AppImage
chmod +x heroic-x86_64.AppImage

# Move to a permanent location
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv heroic-x86_64.AppImage ~/.local/bin/heroic

# Run it
~/.local/bin/heroic

Or install via Flatpak:

sudo apt install -y flatpak
flatpak install flathub com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl

In Heroic:

  1. Log in to your Epic Games and/or GOG accounts
  2. Set the game installation path to /mnt/games/epic and /mnt/games/gog
  3. Configure Wine/Proton version under Settings → Game Defaults

Step 6 – Ubisoft Connect (via Heroic or Lutris)

Ubisoft Connect requires extra setup on Linux.

Option A – Via Heroic: Some Ubisoft games purchased on Epic can be launched through Heroic with Ubisoft Connect running inside the Wine environment.

Option B – Via Lutris:

sudo apt install -y lutris

Search for your Ubisoft games on lutris.net — most have community-maintained install scripts that handle the Ubisoft Connect setup automatically.

Step 7 – Optimise for gaming performance

Set NVIDIA power mode to maximum performance 

sudo nvidia-smi --persistence-mode=1
sudo nvidia-smi -pm 1

Add to /etc/rc.local to apply on boot.

Install GameMode

GameMode optimises system performance when a game is running:

sudo apt install -y gamemode

In Steam, add gamemoderun %command% to a game’s launch options for better performance.

Install MangoHud (performance overlay)

MangoHud shows FPS, GPU usage, temperatures and more as an overlay:

sudo apt install -y mangohud

Add mangohud %command% to Steam launch options to enable it per game.

ProtonDB — check game compatibility

Before installing a Windows game, check protondb.com for community reports. Games are rated:

Rating Meaning
Platinum Works perfectly out of the box
Gold Works with minor tweaks
Silver Works but with some issues
Bronze Runs but significant problems
Borked Does not work

The vast majority of popular games are Gold or Platinum.

Useful commands 

# Check GPU temperature while gaming
nvidia-smi --query-gpu=temperature.gpu --format=csv,noheader -l 1

# Monitor GPU usage
watch -n 1 nvidia-smi

# List installed Proton versions
ls ~/.steam/steam/steamapps/common/ | grep Proton

What’s next

Part 10 deploys Jellyfin — your own Netflix, streaming your media library to any device.

Up next: Part 10 – Jellyfin (coming soon)

Related links