Xodus, from the Heroic Games Launcher developers, bypasses Windows restrictions to run PC Game Pass titles locally on Linux and macOS.
Developers behind the open source Heroic Games Launcher, alongside independent contributors, launched Xodus on 10 August 2026, an open-source project aimed at running PC Game Pass and GDK-based Xbox PC titles natively on Linux, Steam Deck, and macOS.
To overcome Microsoft’s proprietary Game Development Kit (GDK) runtime that restricts these games to Windows, Xodus utilises Valve’s Proton, a custom Wine fork, and reverse-engineered runtimes such as xgameruntime.dll.
The development team has achieved key milestones, successfully implementing Microsoft/Xbox Live authentication via the Rust-based xal-rs library, acquiring game licences, downloading packages, and decrypting local MSIXVC files. While package retrieval and decryption are functional, end-to-end game execution is still in development, with contributors currently rebuilding Xbox Gaming Runtime service layers and Wine patches.
Previously, accessing Game Pass on Linux required streaming via Xbox Cloud Gaming, which introduces latency and mandates a higher-tier Game Pass Ultimate subscription. By enabling local execution, Xodus aims to make running PC Game Pass titles on alternative operating systems as seamless as launching native Windows games on Steam using Proton.
