Best Early Access Linux Games on Steam

Steam currently has 10,466 Early Access games, but not all of them are able to be played on Linux builds. Explore our list of the best picks ranked by Player Score. Our Player Score rankings are calculated directly from reviews left on the Steam store and will be updated in real-time as more players leave their feedback. Early Access game rankings were last updated on 11/27/2024.

Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:

1. Slime Rancher

Slime Rancher is the tale of Beatrix LeBeau, a plucky, young rancher who sets out for a life a thousand light years away from Earth on the ‘Far, Far Range’ where she tries her hand at making a living wrangling slimes.

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Slime Rancher holds the #1 spot for "best Linux Early Access game on Steam" with a Player Score of 97. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 127,091 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 124,462 positive reviews and 2,629 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $1.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Slime Rancher on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $1.99
Release Date 8/1/2017
Franchise Monomi Park
Developer Monomi Park
Publisher Monomi Park
Steam App Id 433340

2. Rhythm Doctor

Save patients with your rhythm mastery! Rhythm Doctor is a rhythm game where you heal patients by defibrillating in time to their heartbeats. Learn each patient's unique heartbeat and defeat boss viruses trying to sabotage your rhythm, all set to heart-pumping, soul-soothing music.

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Rhythm Doctor has achieved a Player Score of 96, placing it in the #2 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 20,487 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 20,165 positive reviews and 322 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $14.39 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.

Steam Price $14.39
Release Date 2/26/2021
Franchise 7th Beat Games
Developer 7th Beat Games
Publishers
Steam App Id 774181

3. Ravenfield

Fight upon the Ravenfield together with your Blue allies! Take down those pesky Reds using helicopters, tanks, guns, and active ragdoll physics!

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Ravenfield has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #3 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 70,237 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 68,054 positive reviews and 2,183 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $11.87 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Ravenfield on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $11.87
Release Date 5/18/2017
Developer SteelRaven7
Publisher SteelRaven7
Steam App Id 636480

4. shapez 2

Dive into a factory-building game with the focus on just that – building huge space factories! Construct sprawling multi-level factories and satisfying production lines without limits. Tackle increasingly complex automation challenges at your own pace – you won’t have to worry about enemies.

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shapez 2 has achieved a Player Score of 95, placing it in the #4 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 9,050 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 8,903 positive reviews and 147 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $18.74 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play shapez 2 on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $18.74
Release Date 8/15/2024
Franchise tobspr Games
Developer tobspr Games
Publishers
Steam App Id 2162800

5. Baldi's Basics Plus

Baldi's Basics® Plus is an active stealth roguelike that parodies cheap '90s edutainment with a subtle horror twist! Play Hide & Seek with Baldi as he chases you through procedurally generated levels while using your surroundings, items, and game knowledge to shift chaos in your favor.

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Baldi's Basics Plus has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #5 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 6,122 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 5,970 positive reviews and 152 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 6/12/2020
Developer Basically Games
Publisher Basically Games, LLC
Steam App Id 1275890

6. Black Mesa

Relive Half-Life.

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Black Mesa has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #6 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 119,355 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 113,735 positive reviews and 5,620 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $19.99 to play and can be played and ran on both Windows and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Black Mesa on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $19.99
Release Date 3/6/2020
Developer Crowbar Collective
Publisher Crowbar Collective
Steam App Id 362890

7. Streets of Rogue

Fight, sneak, and hack your way through randomly generated cities. It's like Nuclear Throne meets Deus Ex, mixed with the anarchy of GTA. Rogue-lite meets immersive sim, and goes completely insane.

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Streets of Rogue has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #7 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 21,324 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 20,498 positive reviews and 826 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $3.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Streets of Rogue on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $3.99
Release Date 7/12/2019
Developer Matt Dabrowski
Publisher tinyBuild
Steam App Id 512900

8. Valheim

A brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players, set in a procedurally-generated purgatory inspired by viking culture. Battle, build, and conquer your way to a saga worthy of Odin’s patronage!

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Valheim has achieved a Player Score of 94, placing it in the #8 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 476,793 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 450,260 positive reviews and 26,533 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $9.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.

Steam Price $9.99
Release Date 2/2/2021
Franchise Coffee Stain
Developer Iron Gate AB
Publisher Coffee Stain Publishing
Steam App Id 892970

9. Kindergarten

Welcome to Kindergarten! Have fun trying to learn and share...and not die. That's important too. In a school that's just not quite right, it's important to be friendly...and take out those that aren't.

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Kindergarten has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #9 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 8,309 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 8,019 positive reviews and 290 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $4.99 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. At the moment, it is possible to play Kindergarten on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).

Steam Price $4.99
Release Date 6/15/2017
Developers
Publisher SmashGames
Steam App Id 589590

10. Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid is the ultimate in zombie survival. Alone or in MP: you loot, build, craft, fight, farm and fish in a struggle to survive. A hardcore RPG skillset, a vast map, massively customisable sandbox and a cute tutorial raccoon await the unwary. So how will you die? All it takes is a bite..

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Project Zomboid has achieved a Player Score of 93, placing it in the #10 spot for the best Linux Early Access games. Its score was calculated by analyzing a total of 333,283 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 313,914 positive reviews and 19,369 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.

It is priced at $13.39 to play and can be played and ran on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. Valve has also verified it as playable on the Steam Deck and will run well.

Steam Price $13.39
Release Date 11/8/2013
Developer The Indie Stone
Publisher The Indie Stone
Steam App Id 108600

More Early Access Linux Games on Steam

Explore even more rankings for the 10 best Early Access games available on Steam.

ImageName
Actions
Slime Rancher steam charts
11,430
8/1/2017
97
$1.99
Steam Charts
Rhythm Doctor steam charts
56
2/26/2021
96
$14.39
Steam Charts
Ravenfield steam charts
1,059
5/18/2017
95
$11.87
Steam Charts
shapez 2 steam charts
1,234
8/15/2024
95
$18.74
Steam Charts
Baldi's Basics Plus steam charts
57
6/12/2020
94
$9.99
Steam Charts
Black Mesa steam charts
1,414
3/6/2020
94
$19.99
Steam Charts
Streets of Rogue steam charts
292
7/12/2019
94
$3.99
Steam Charts
Valheim steam charts
24,089
2/2/2021
94
$9.99
Steam Charts
Kindergarten steam charts
47
6/15/2017
93
$4.99
Steam Charts
Project Zomboid steam charts
29,767
11/8/2013
93
$13.39
Steam Charts

Soures & References

Steambase has best-in-class data powered directly by Steam, our data partners, and in-house experts. Reviews and rankings are enriched, analyzed, and updated in real-time to ensure we surface the most up-to-date insights. Learn more about the Steambase approach to data collection and our review methodology.

  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 27). Steam Store. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 27). Slime Rancher on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 1). Rhythm Doctor on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 29). Ravenfield on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 30). shapez 2 on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 9). Baldi's Basics Plus on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 22). Black Mesa on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 28). Streets of Rogue on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, November 30). Valheim on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, October 28). Kindergarten on Steam. Steam Store.
  • Valve Corporation. (2024, December 1). Project Zomboid on Steam. Steam Store.

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