--- title: Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run... description: Xodus is a new open source project from the Heroic Games Launcher team that reverse-engineers the Xbox GDK software stack and Xbox Game Runtime... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run natively on Linux | daily.dev og:description: Xodus is a new open source project from the Heroic Games Launcher team that reverse-engineers the Xbox GDK software stack and Xbox Game Runtime... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/OHhHDeWSn.png og:image:alt: Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run natively on Linux og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run natively on Linux **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 31 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary Xodus is a new open source project from the Heroic Games Launcher team that reverse-engineers the Xbox GDK software stack and Xbox Game Runtime (xgameruntime.dll) to run Xbox PC Game Pass titles natively on Linux and macOS without a Windows VM. Written primarily in Rust, it already handles Xbox authentication, game downloads, MSIXVC package decryption, and license acquisition. The remaining work involves recreating the Xbox Gaming Runtime in Wine/Proton so games can actually launch. No public binaries are available yet, with a release still months away. The project targets GDK/MSIXVC format titles only — older UWP games like Forza Horizon 4 are out of scope. ## Content A new open source project called Xodus, led by the team behind the Heroic Games Launcher, is working to bring Xbox PC Game Pass titles to Linux and macOS without a Windows virtual machine. The existing workaround, XSync, requires GPU passthrough through a Windows VM and only works with Nvidia hardware. Xodus takes a different approach: reverse-engineering the Xbox GDK software stack and the Xbox Game Runtime (`xgameruntime.dll`) so that GDK-based games can run through Wine/Proton directly. ## What's working already The two hardest pieces are apparently done. The project lead confirmed that Xbox authentication and game downloads are both functional. Xodus can already download and decrypt MSIXVC packages and handle license acquisition. That's a meaningful chunk of the pipeline. What remains is the harder Wine-side work: recreating the Xbox Gaming Runtime and enough of the game SDK that titles can actually launch and run. No binaries are available yet, and a public release is still months away. ## What it's built from The project is written primarily in Rust and includes: - A Rust-based client for authentication and package delivery - A forked NTFS library for reading MSIXVC packages - An open source implementation of `xgameruntime.dll` for Wine - Forked copies of Wine and Proton The code is on GitHub, and there's a Discord for contributors who want to help move things along. ## What it won't support Xodus targets GDK and MSIXVC format titles only. Older UWP-based games like Forza Horizon 4 and Gears of War 4 are out of scope, at least for now. If you're hoping to run the full Game Pass catalog, you'll be disappointed — but for newer GDK titles, this is the most promising native approach anyone has attempted. ## The bigger picture For Linux users who've held off on Game Pass because of the Windows requirement, Xodus is worth watching. The comparison to Proton is apt: Valve's backing of Wine, DXVK, and related projects turned Linux gaming from a hobby project into something genuinely usable. Whether Microsoft would ever support Xodus similarly is an open question, but the project doesn't need that to make progress. ## Questions this post answers ### Is there a way to run Xbox Game Pass games natively on Linux without a Windows VM? A project called Xodus is reverse-engineering the Xbox GDK software stack and xgameruntime.dll to run GDK-based Xbox Game Pass titles through Wine/Proton on Linux and macOS. Unlike the existing XSync workaround, which requires GPU passthrough through a Windows VM and only supports Nvidia hardware, Xodus needs no VM. Authentication and package downloads already work, but launching games still requires rebuilding the Xbox Gaming Runtime, so no public release exists yet. _daily.dev surfaces progress on projects like Xodus for anyone tracking native Linux gaming support._ ### Will Xodus support older Xbox games like Forza Horizon 4 on Linux? No, Xodus only targets titles built on the GDK and MSIXVC package format. Older UWP-based games such as Forza Horizon 4 and Gears of War 4 are explicitly out of scope for the project, at least in its current form, so the full Game Pass catalog won't be playable through this approach. _developers evaluating Game Pass compatibility on Linux can follow scope changes like this through daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@ahorts** · 1 upvotes > Fingers crossed ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [After nine years, Linux gamers can finally join Minecraft Bedrock servers without the headaches](https://daily.dev/posts/after-nine-years-linux-gamers-can-finally-join-minecraft-bedrock-servers-without-the-headaches-efmkoxbqi) · XDA Developers · 44 upvotes · 7 comments --- Tags: [#gaming](https://daily.dev/tags/gaming), [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust), [#reverse-engineering](https://daily.dev/tags/reverse-engineering) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run natively on Linux","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T18:59:28.329Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T19:24:01.326Z","description":"Xodus is a new open source project from the Heroic Games Launcher team that reverse-engineers the Xbox GDK software stack and Xbox Game Runtime...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a5a3d37c1cc16d1ebbc922309ff62642?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a5a3d37c1cc16d1ebbc922309ff62642?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Collections","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Collections","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--fk_6ycEi--/f_auto,q_auto/v1780996001/logos/collections?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":31},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"gaming,rust,reverse-engineering","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Collections","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/collections"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Xodus is reverse-engineering Xbox Game Pass to run natively on Linux"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"Fingers crossed","datePublished":"2026-08-12T09:16:31.840Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/OHhHDeWSn#c-Sk2agxuR3","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Ahorts","url":"https://daily.dev/ahorts","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocKo8sQvXPG--m8FGJxm0nXj3KPX9C2Oh78gqdzXoC2-IVUOWREP=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/xodus-is-reverse-engineering-xbox-game-pass-to-run-natively-on-linux-ohhhdewsn#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Is there a way to run Xbox Game Pass games natively on Linux without a Windows VM?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"A project called Xodus is reverse-engineering the Xbox GDK software stack and xgameruntime.dll to run GDK-based Xbox Game Pass titles through Wine/Proton on Linux and macOS. Unlike the existing XSync workaround, which requires GPU passthrough through a Windows VM and only supports Nvidia hardware, Xodus needs no VM. Authentication and package downloads already work, but launching games still requires rebuilding the Xbox Gaming Runtime, so no public release exists yet. daily.dev surfaces progress on projects like Xodus for anyone tracking native Linux gaming support."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Will Xodus support older Xbox games like Forza Horizon 4 on Linux?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, Xodus only targets titles built on the GDK and MSIXVC package format. Older UWP-based games such as Forza Horizon 4 and Gears of War 4 are explicitly out of scope for the project, at least in its current form, so the full Game Pass catalog won't be playable through this approach. developers evaluating Game Pass compatibility on Linux can follow scope changes like this through daily.dev."}}]} ```