Confused on Steam Play and Proton? Be sure to check out our guide.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

One of the developers from Bohemia Interactive who's active in our community is asking to see how much interest there is in the Linux port of Arma 3 [Steam Page]. Currently, the Linux (and Mac) ports of Arma 3 from Virtual Programming are hidden from the Steam store page, because Bohemia Interactive class them as experimental. You can install it from Steam like any other game, it's just not advertised.

The developer, who goes by the nickname Dwarden, has asked me to make it clear that this is not an official poll. They're simple trying to find out just how much community interest there is.

On their Discord, they've pinned a message in the "linux_mac_branch" channel that reads:

How many users @here use Linux / Mac ports or may get interested to use ?
(especially if the delay time of port shortens after the Windows release ? )
{you can use reaction to add to the counter(s)}
{just to be clear this unofficial poll is for insight}

You can join their Discord using this link, to let them know your thoughts and add to the "reaction counter" if it's important to you. Once you're in their discord, if you have trouble finding the message here's a direct link (only works if you've joined).

Naturally, commenting here as well will also help so they can see outside interest and for those of you who don't like Discord you can also make yourselves known.

Personally, I quite enjoyed the last time I jumped in with a bunch of members from the community, it performed reasonably well and we all had a really great time. It's a pretty fascinating game, one I wouldn't experience without a Linux port so I really do hope they keep pushing forwards to eventually have it properly advertised on Steam.

Of course, not having it actually advertised won't really help since people won't know unless they're told about it. There's also nothing else like it on Linux, so I feel it's quite important.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Native Linux, Action, FPS | Apps: Arma 3
30 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can also follow my personal adventures on Bluesky.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
All posts need to follow our rules. For users logged in: please hit the Report Flag icon on any post that breaks the rules or contains illegal / harmful content. Guest readers can email us for any issues.
76 comments
Page: «2/4»
  Go to:

OG SWAT RV@Linux Aug 3, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter
Hi,
I love ARMA3 for Linux , I have 298 h on it. I have all DLCs.I like to play scenarios from the workshop. And on-line I play always on emp64s server. ARMA3 is great. It is fantastic when the win and Linux versions are the same. Oh boy then I love king of the hill.
Ardje Aug 3, 2018
I don't know man. I really don't like it when war games hit reality too much. I already had a lot of problems getting myself to hit a dodo in Ark...
Greaser Aug 3, 2018
I already own ARMA 3, but really would love to see official support for the game and finally a launcher to organize the mods more easily.
tgurr Aug 3, 2018
Discord is a stupid decision for raising awareness of interested Linux users. However, trying to join with the link mentioned in the news: "This invite may be expired, or you might not have permission to join."
Crazy Penguin Aug 3, 2018
Got in a Bundle a while ago, and couldn't care less about the game. Esp. after the stunt with Arma 1. Another thing BI is famous for is bugs, bugs, bugs and even more bugs. Also they took DayZ and gave a sh** about! After 5 years this game is still a buggy mess.

So no, I'm not interested in any of their bug infested games!
doomiebaby Aug 3, 2018
I've been very interested but incompatibility with the windows builds has indeed kept me away. Also don't like discord so this is the only place I'll say anything.
Windousico Aug 3, 2018
I'm interested (It's on my wishlist), but I want shorter delays with updates.
sarlej Aug 3, 2018
Discord is a stupid decision for raising awareness of interested Linux users. However, trying to join with the link mentioned in the news: "This invite may be expired, or you might not have permission to join."

I have the same error. Anyone know what that means and how to solve it?
jens Aug 3, 2018
  • Supporter
I'm definitely interested in it. I brought it during the last Steam sale and played quite a bit. I'm hoping it will become official one day.
Yes, same here. Purchased and played it a bit on my Linux Machine (single player). Runs perfectly for me and would be cool to see the SteamOS logo on that one.


Last edited by jens on 4 August 2018 at 6:09 am UTC
Liam Dawe Aug 3, 2018
Discord is a stupid decision for raising awareness of interested Linux users. However, trying to join with the link mentioned in the news: "This invite may be expired, or you might not have permission to join."
Sorry, the link i was sent was an auto expiring one. I've added a new one.
peta77 Aug 3, 2018
another account? for discord? to post on this subject only??? no, thanks... I hope they'll read the replies to this articles too...

so i bought arma3 a long time ago while using mainly ms-windows for gaming... in the course of time, while more and more significant games got ported, ms-windows got less important, linux became my main gaming platform; as much as i actually use my 2nd pc, which runs ms-windows, only very rarely, and only for a very few games that are completely unavailable on linux..
so when arma3 appeared for linux i was very happy.. and while in the beginnings there were a couple of issues - which are solved for me now - some significant things remain, which make it not recommandable for the general public, which are:
1. update cycle: when you're behind the latest official version for most of the time, you practically can't join any multiplayer/coop event; and as that's one of the main reasons playing arma3 long-term, it's a significant drawback.. there's also a lot of single player stuff in the workshop, but in the end, that's not it...
2. controller support (configuration): especially if you want to be flying in the game (helicopter or plane), you lack the amount of sufficient support for configuration like in the ms-windows version inside the game.. I'd like to have my tm hotas warthog and saitek pro flight rudder pedals configured for flight (and my logitech g25 for driving)... x-plane and war thunder are showing that it can be perfectly done without using any of steams stuff.. but without, reasonable flying is next to impossible...
3. rotor-lib: the more realistic helicopter physics are not available on linux... that's most confusing.. that's physics stuff only, which is usually the easiest to port (and actually the thing which linux and unix system are most used for besides web servers)... how come this is not available... ok, actually makes no sense while point 2 is not fixed... but still doesn't make any sense..

but it's not like i totally hate it and don't play it anymore; i've got almost 130 hours on this game (where approx. at least half of it was on linux), but as the strategy isn't very clear and bsi says (seeing it pessimistically): expect support to stop at every moment, i'm not very motivated to invest more into it (on a monetary basis), like bying more dlcs (though there are some interesting ones)... so having a more clear and dedicated vision, while trying to keep all players fully in the game, would help a lot to improve the reputation of the port and the game.. at least for me.. and, as i'm not buying games anymore that support ms-windows only, it would be nice if could at least make that happen for arma4 if there will be one, otherwise i won't be interested..

oh, and btw: would you mind porting 'take on helicopters' to linux (but with full features)?? would be great!
axelb Aug 3, 2018
interested o/
14 Aug 3, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
My Windowz buddies are kind enough to install the legacyports version so we can all play together. The Linux port is important to me to keep alive at minimum. It would be nice to have the port version in sync with the main version more often (or all the time) to increase the player base.
g000h Aug 3, 2018
Interested, *but*.... more interested in a really good DayZ Linux port. (Sorry)
iiari Aug 4, 2018
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Interested, but was waiting for a sign of more solid support than "experimental" before buying. If they're gonna back it, I'm gonna buy it...
sn0rlax Aug 4, 2018
Discord blows.

I've always been interested in the Arma series, but I'm Linux only, so I'll definitely buy it if support becomes official.
mylka Aug 4, 2018
i played it, when it was free for a weekend. performance could be better, so im willing to buy it, when i have a new graphics card... but damn bitcoin is rising again and so are the prices
sonic Aug 4, 2018
the foliage texture flickering with mesa has always annoyed me and takes most of the fun out of it.

It's a Mesa issue and we reported it. However theres been no progress on fixing it. There is a workaround option but it kills the frame rate.

You says that is Mesa bug, but from Mesa devs response I am no so sure. And lets be honest, this is mainly caused by the d3d->ogl translation layer.
fenevadkan Aug 4, 2018
I like having this option, but it should be fair. So you have 3 games with 60+50+20=130$ value that you need to pass only for a game with 50$ value... It should be enough to pass Tales of Berseria (it is also 50$ as the Rise of Tomb Raider). Or they could offer another 2 linux games in return.
DerRidda Aug 4, 2018
I'm highly interested in ARMA III for Linux but I will not buy it as long as the developers aren't committed to it.
It needs to be a 100% official fully supported port that is in sync with the Windows version.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.