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Well, there it is, the update for Roblox has arrived that now forcefully blocks it from working with Wine on Linux systems (like Steam Deck).

It's been a bit of a saga hasn't it? Roblox has always been somewhat iffy to play on Linux, at times being broken while people working on the likes of Grapefruit and Vinegar repeatedly kept up with changes to make it work. The Roblox developers then introduced Hyperion anti-cheat software, although they continued to make it work unofficially with Wine but that wasn't to last as a developer explained that it has caused cheating.

Now if you try to run it, you will simply be told "Wine is not supported.":

This is an intentional change by the Roblox dev team, to block Wine, as noted in the previous article linked above where a Roblox developer clearly replied to note it wouldn't work in future.

Despite what you may think of Roblox (and it's historically had plenty of problems) as one of the biggest gaming platforms ever, it's certainly a shame to see it go. There's plenty of people out there that have Roblox as their main thing, and so not being able to do it on Linux is quite a loss.

Any game that intentionally prevents it from working on Linux is a loss as it just increases the uphill battle Linux has as a gaming platform. There's not exactly many accessible alternatives to it for Linux fans.

Know any alternatives for people looking? Let readers know in the comments.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Anti-Cheat, Misc, Wine
17 Likes
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63 comments
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Cybolic Mar 2
Quoting: poiuz
Quoting: Purple Library GuyGosh, read what you said, and think about it.
It doesn't change how many times I read it. Do you think it's rude to call you out on your false statements about something you (admitted) have no knowledge about?
Okay, I'll step in here. You were rude in presenting Purple Library Guy's argument as if they were claiming to post fact and you had step in to disprove them. What actually happened, is that you were both speculating, but you, poiuz, chose to present yourself as morally superior and more factually correct - which is rude, since you didn't have any basis for it and there was no need to be confrontational about it.
Quoting: poiuz
Quoting: Purple Library GuyGosh, read what you said, and think about it.
It doesn't change how many times I read it. Do you think it's rude to call you out on your false statements about something you (admitted) have no knowledge about?
As I recall, originally it was just that I had no right to speculate without knowledge--which is stupid given that not having knowledge is the prerequisite for speculation. Now you're saying I'd made false statements--which I had not, since everything I had said was either asking questions or suggesting possibilities, not making positive claims. It's particularly amusing that you are now saying the possibilities I suggested were "false" since elsewhere you say you don't know the truth of it, so presumably you can't know if anything I said was false. Go take a logic class.

So then you go on to say that I spun a conspiracy, which I did not, and made "allegations", which I did not, and completely ignore the entirety of what I did say, in the same way for the second time. I'm amazed that you managed to read whole paragraphs entirely and very very explicitly talking about the general context of corporate actions over time and how they could give rise to certain attitudes, and continue to pretend that these paragraphs constituted claims about the actions of the Roblox company, which I was going to major pains to explain that they did not.

I'm impressed, but not in a way which makes me feel like engaging with you any further. Have a nice day, and consider taking some reading and critical thinking classes.
Nocifer Mar 2
Quoting: Cybolic
Quoting: poiuz
Quoting: Purple Library GuyGosh, read what you said, and think about it.
It doesn't change how many times I read it. Do you think it's rude to call you out on your false statements about something you (admitted) have no knowledge about?
Okay, I'll step in here. You were rude in presenting Purple Library Guy's argument as if they were claiming to post fact and you had step in to disprove them. What actually happened, is that you were both speculating, but you, poiuz, chose to present yourself as morally superior and more factually correct - which is rude, since you didn't have any basis for it and there was no need to be confrontational about it.

I'll also step in to add that no, @poiuz wasn't rude just because they too were only speculating after all, or because they chose to falsely present themselves as morally superior and factually correct, or because they didn't have any basis for it - all of that is absolutely true, of course; but the fact is that, even if there were a basis for what @poiuz said, the way they chose to express their opinion would still be rude as fscking hell.

Goddammit, why is it so hard for people to be kind to each other?
hell0 Mar 2
Quoting: x_wingUnpopular opinion here, but I think that for this online only type of games the best solution will end up being that they create a cloud solution that doesn't require any local client. That way they can reduce the number of cheaters plus make it independent of the user OS (and not to mention how much they will reduce QA cost).

There is no need to go online-only, just validate things on the server.

Imagine editing the account balance in your browser is enough for your bank to actually change it. And imagine your bank's solution is to enforce a "secure browser" that won't let you edit the pages. That is the level most game devs seem to be at...
poiuz Mar 3
Quoting: CybolicYou were rude in presenting Purple Library Guy's argument as if they were claiming to post fact and you had step in to disprove them.
That's not true. I specifically acknowledged that it was pure speculation.

Quoting: poiuzThat's a lot of speculation about something you have no idea about.

Quoting: Cybolicchose to present yourself as morally superior and more factually correct
My speculation is based on what the Roblox developer are claiming, what Wine developers are saying & what the Wine code is implementing.

Quoting: Cybolicwhich is rude, since you didn't have any basis for it and there was no need to be confrontational about it.
I wasn't confrontational. And my basis is that I know it being wrong.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyAs I recall, originally it was just that I had no right to speculate without knowledge
I never denied the right speculate. I pointed out that you speculate about things you admitted have no idea about. You were speculating about what the Roblox developers are doing can't work. How could you know any of this if you don't even know how it all works?

Quoting: Purple Library Guywhich is stupid given that not having knowledge is the prerequisite for speculation.
No, prerequisite is to have a basis for speculation. Which you don't have, by own admission.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyNow you're saying I'd made false statements--which I had not, since everything I had said was either asking questions or suggesting possibilities, not making positive claims. It's particularly amusing that you are now saying the possibilities I suggested were "false" since elsewhere you say you don't know the truth of it, so presumably you can't know if anything I said was false. Go take a logic class.
No, I said I don't know exactly how Wine is used by cheat developers. But I know what you were saying is wrong. I wouldn't have commented on it if I didn't know this.

You seem to think it's just a simple check in Roblox which can be circumvented. The check & message are just for convenience there to inform about the incompatibility. But the actual blocking will be happening by the anti-cheat software. This can't be circumvented, as we know from other games. The necessary APIs aren't even implemented in Wine.

Quoting: Purple Library GuySo then you go on to say that I spun a conspiracy
Yeah, sorry. I did mix up comments from different users. I edited the comment accordingly.

Quoting: Purple Library GuyHave a nice day, and consider taking some reading and critical thinking classes.
Have a nice day, too. I hope you follow your own advise.

Quoting: Nociferthe way they chose to express their opinion would still be rude as fscking hell.

Goddammit, why is it so hard for people to be kind to each other?
Nice joke. Why are you rude now? Stop being a morale apostle if you can't uphold your own standards.

I still don't see my initial post as being rude.
Pengling Mar 3
Quoting: poiuzYou seem to think it's just a simple check in Roblox which can be circumvented. The check & message are just for convenience there to inform about the incompatibility. But the actual blocking will be happening by the anti-cheat software. This can't be circumvented, as we know from other games. The necessary APIs aren't even implemented in Wine.
They were using the same anti-cheat and allowing it through Wine before. This is mentioned in the article.
poiuz Mar 3
Quoting: PenglingThey were using the same anti-cheat and allowing it through Wine before. This is mentioned in the article.
No, they were not. That's mentioned in the previous article.

We can probably say a final goodbye to Roblox on Linux with Wine soon

QuoteAdditionally, we had to disable many antitamper checks to make Hyperion run on Wine.
s01itude Mar 3
Quoting: poiuz
Quoting: PenglingThey were using the same anti-cheat and allowing it through Wine before. This is mentioned in the article.
No, they were not. That's mentioned in the previous article.

We can probably say a final goodbye to Roblox on Linux with Wine soon

QuoteAdditionally, we had to disable many antitamper checks to make Hyperion run on Wine.

Perhaps there's a bit of pedantry/semantics in what I'm about to say, but frankly that's the importance of it anyway.

"we had to disable many antitamper checks to make Hyperion run on wine" actually (I'll be honest that I didn't read the article nor do I care to) that sentence in and of itself does not disprove Pengling's statment about using the same anti-cheat and allowing it through wine. In fact it lines up with what he's saying.

Saying they had to disable functions to make it run on wine actually implies it's the same anticheat (again I dont know if Hyperion is the same software they were using before, just going off your specific quote), and furthermore shows they had to do things to allow it to work with wine which is further in line with what Pengling states.

Now to my point about the importance of semantics, I suspect that your definition of "same anti-cheat" is probably different than Penglings, otherwise you wouldn't have use a quote that actually supports their statement in order to counter their statement. Given how your previous discussion went, as well, I'd suggest coming to equal terms with others on what you specifically mean with each term because otherwise you end up in meaningless discussion that will come to no resolution other than frustration.

Discussion is unproductive if the people involved cannot agree on the definitions of the core terms being discussed.
Roblox still runs on Linux with Waydroid. The Performance isn't great, however, but playable on a fast enough computer.

Nocifer Mar 3
Quoting: poiuz
Quoting: Nociferthe way they chose to express their opinion would still be rude as fscking hell.

Goddammit, why is it so hard for people to be kind to each other?
Nice joke. Why are you rude now? Stop being a morale apostle if you can't uphold your own standards.

What's this, a schoolyard debate? This is not me being rude, this is me being exasperated by your own rudeness.

Quoting: poiuzI still don't see my initial post as being rude.

And that's the real issue here. You don't see it because you actually don't have a clue about what "being rude" actually means, and what it feels like to those on the receiving end of uncalled-for rudeness. I think you're overdue for some serious social reeducation.
poiuz Mar 3
Quoting: s01itudePerhaps there's a bit of pedantry/semantics in what I'm about to say, but frankly that's the importance of it anyway.

"we had to disable many antitamper checks to make Hyperion run on wine" actually (I'll be honest that I didn't read the article nor do I care to) that sentence in and of itself does not disprove Pengling's statment about using the same anti-cheat and allowing it through wine. In fact it lines up with what he's saying.

Saying they had to disable functions to make it run on wine actually implies it's the same anticheat (again I dont know if Hyperion is the same software they were using before, just going off your specific quote), and furthermore shows they had to do things to allow it to work with wine which is further in line with what Pengling states.

Now to my point about the importance of semantics, I suspect that your definition of "same anti-cheat" is probably different than Penglings, otherwise you wouldn't have use a quote that actually supports their statement in order to counter their statement. Given how your previous discussion went, as well, I'd suggest coming to equal terms with others on what you specifically mean with each term because otherwise you end up in meaningless discussion that will come to no resolution other than frustration.

Discussion is unproductive if the people involved cannot agree on the definitions of the core terms being discussed.
They use less checks in the Wine version. This is what I'd call different anti-cheat. Just because it's the same software doesn't mean it's the same code running. Especially in the context of its domain (preventing cheats), what's running in Wine is, according to the developers, a worse version.

It's like the Linux kernel: It's always the same software but based on the build (or in case of specialised builds even the system it is running on) it behaves differently (e.g. missing drivers). Up to the point to which the versions may be incompatible (e.g. Android vs GNU/Linux).

Quoting: NociferWhat's this, a schoolyard debate? This is not me being rude, this is me being exasperated by your own rudeness.

And that's the real issue here. You don't see it because you actually don't have a clue about what "being rude" actually means, and what it feels like to those on the receiving end of uncalled-for rudeness. I think you're overdue for some serious social reeducation.
It's just too funny. Just stop lecturing people, you're just really awful at it.

To conclude: If I'd say I was exasperated by the comment I could simply claim I wasn't rude? I mean, that's exactly what you're doing.
s01itude Mar 3
Quoting: poiuzThey use less checks in the Wine version. This is what I'd call different anti-cheat. Just because it's the same software doesn't mean it's the same code running. Especially in the context of its domain (preventing cheats), what's running in Wine is, according to the developers, a worse version.

It's like the Linux kernel: It's always the same software but based on the build (or in case of specialised builds even the system it is running on) it behaves differently (e.g. missing drivers). Up to the point to which the versions may be incompatible (e.g. Android vs GNU/Linux).

Well thanks for explaining that to me, but this is exactly what I was alluding to. To you the same software isn't the same software if it's been changed, but to Pengling the same software-but-changed is the same software. And frankly I'd side with Pengling because what they explained in that quote doesn't sound like some repository fork, but rather just changing flags to off (again I'm going purely off that quote, if that's not what they actually did I have no point of reference for that).

And if you have problems agreeing on that kind of term I'd warn you that you probably don't agree with others on terms such as "rude" or "exasperated". And at this point it really doesn't matter who is using the words right, you're still going to be wasting your time arguing over semantics.

And frankly if you find it more important to be precise and correct than to be polite or take the high ground and apologize (even if you don't think you did something rude) you're kinda showing yourself to be rude, and this is why people are calling you rude.
Suffering succotash, folks! Put the knives away! You're arguing a moot point!

As a man who looks in the mirror and notices less hair than ten years ago, I don't particularly care about some game that seems like Second Life for kids and if it supports my preferred OS and/or kernel or not. Particularly since it's in the news every few weeks for being a scam disguised as a game or a hive of predators. Deserved or not, again, much like Second Life. I don't know enough about it to have an opinion.

All I know is that my kids, should I be blessed enough to have them, will touch Roblox over my moldy-rotten-festering corpse.

Might I suggest Toontown Rewritten as an alternative MMO for young'ins? It even has a flatpak (doesn't use flathub) for its launcher and just introduced controller support. It even got former Toontown Online design director Jesse Schell's approval.
Are there any cloud streaming services that provide access to Roblox? If so, perhaps that should be the recommendation from now on for anyone wanting to play it on Linux.
Quoting: Xaero_VincentRoblox still runs on Linux with Waydroid. The Performance isn't great, however, but playable on a fast enough computer.


Is there a "how to" guide for getting this setup?
You can install all Android games with Waydroid? It's an Android emulator?
doragasu Mar 4
Quoting: legluondunetYou can install all Android games with Waydroid? It's an Android emulator?

Gave it a try and it works, but mouse control does not properly work in some games, maybe a configuration issue?
Quoting: legluondunetYou can install all Android games with Waydroid? It's an Android emulator?

Actually no, it allows you to run Android apps on your native kernel. All you need is a Wayland compositor and an Android image of your choice. It's not a compatibility layer, either. It uses Linux namespaces to run Android apps in a container, without being a full VM.

The official docs are a good place to start. The ArchWiki has a decent write-up too.


Last edited by redneckdrow on 4 March 2024 at 6:56 pm UTC
poiuz Mar 5
Quoting: s01itudeWell thanks for explaining that to me, but this is exactly what I was alluding to. To you the same software isn't the same software if it's been changed, but to Pengling the same software-but-changed is the same software. And frankly I'd side with Pengling because what they explained in that quote doesn't sound like some repository fork, but rather just changing flags to off (again I'm going purely off that quote, if that's not what they actually did I have no point of reference for that).
As explained, the same software produces different anti-cheat based on the environment. That's like the same image or video encoder producing different results/compression based on user configuration. And as quoted, it was confirmed by the developers that it was different (less & therefore worse). And if you re-read the rest of the previous news you'll find out why Wine is or will be blocked by the anti-cheat: They'll remove or disable the special handling because it's a maintenance burden.
1xok Mar 5
Let's give Linux a little more time to grow. Then the developers are guaranteed to find a solution ;)
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