Best Early Access Linux Games on Steam
Steam currently has 10,576 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 12/15/2024.
Looking for more? Explore other lists such as:
- Best early access games on Steam
- Best early access Steam Deck games
- Best early access Steam games (for Mac OS)
- Free early access games on Steam
- Free Steam games
- Most played Steam games
- Best rated Steam games
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.
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 130,312 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 127,610 positive reviews and 2,702 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 Slime Rancher on the Steam Deck (though some functionality may be limited).
| Steam Price | $4.99 |
| 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.
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 20,584 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 20,262 positive reviews and 322 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $15.99 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 | $15.99 |
| 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!
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 70,501 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 68,324 positive reviews and 2,177 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $17.99 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 | $17.99 |
| 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.
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 9,527 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 9,369 positive reviews and 158 negative reviews — making it "Overwhelmingly Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $24.99 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 | $24.99 |
| 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.
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 6,229 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 6,077 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.
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 120,203 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 114,538 positive reviews and 5,665 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.
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 21,384 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 20,561 positive reviews and 823 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!
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 479,946 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 453,303 positive reviews and 26,643 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.
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 8,348 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 8,058 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..
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 336,344 reviews on Steam. This breaks down to a total of 316,836 positive reviews and 19,508 negative reviews — making it "Very Positive" on Steam.
It is priced at $19.99 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 | $19.99 |
| 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.
| Image | Name | Actions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,540 | 8/1/2017 | 97 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 75 | 2/26/2021 | 96 | $15.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 1,000 | 5/18/2017 | 95 | $17.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 1,043 | 8/15/2024 | 95 | $24.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 68 | 6/12/2020 | 94 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 1,186 | 3/6/2020 | 94 | $19.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 595 | 7/12/2019 | 94 | $3.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 25,028 | 2/2/2021 | 94 | $9.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 45 | 6/15/2017 | 93 | $4.99 | Steam Charts | |
| 25,614 | 11/8/2013 | 93 | $19.99 | 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, December 15). Steam Store. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 15). Slime Rancher on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 14). Rhythm Doctor on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 9). Ravenfield on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 12). shapez 2 on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 9). Baldi's Basics Plus on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 11). Black Mesa on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 11). Streets of Rogue on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 13). Valheim on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 5). Kindergarten on Steam. Steam Store.
- Valve Corporation. (2024, December 15). Project Zomboid on Steam. Steam Store.