RUN Windows Apps and Games on Unix/Linux: Wine 11 Release! (Windows compatibility layer for Linux)

Yes, this WINE is FREE!

Great! Now that I have your attention, I want to share something that I am excited about. Wine version 11.0 has been released! This means Windows specific apps and games will be "more" compatible on Linux/Unix (I should also note that Mac/iOs is actually Unix based nudge-nudge-wink-wink).

This isn't a "Rick-Roll" because the statement "WINE is FREE" is actually true. It is free and open source software 😉.

All jokes aside, if you want to learn more about Wine, in an approachable manner, read on.

 

The Wine logo is from Wine's official website.¹

WHAT IS WINE?

"Wine Is Not an Emulator."

"Wine is a program which allows running Microsoft Windows programs (including DOS, Windows 3.x, Win32, and Win64 executables) on Unix. It consists of a program loader which loads and executes a Microsoft Windows binary, and a library (called Winelib) that implements Windows API calls using their Unix, X11 or Mac equivalents. The library may also be used for porting Windows code into native Unix executables.

Wine is free software, released under the GNU LGPL; see the file LICENSE for the details."¹

WHY IS WINE IMPORTANT?

The importance of Wine for Unix users cannot be understated. The development of the Wine project is nothing short of technical wizardly that continues to mature throughout its development. Wine, itself, has been a gateway for computer users to explore alternative operating systems that often lock the user into the walled-garden of the Windows ecosystem. Wine enables the applications specifically built for Windows Operating system to run in a Unix based environment, sometimes with improved performance.

There is no greater example of the utility of using Wine than in the gaming community (with participating developers, many of which are also gamers). It would be safe to say that Valve, creators of the Steam gaming platform, popularized and to some degree, made using Linux for gaming somewhat mainstream. Despite early attempts of failed Linux console releases, Valve eventually found it's footing by their release of the now popular SteamDeck² and upcoming anticipated releases of hardware built with their flavor of Linux, "Steam OS". Valve also develops Proton, in collaboration with CodeWeavers³. Proton is built on top of Wine⁴. While not all games work, but most do, this compatibility enables gamers to enjoy a large library of their games that originally only worked on Windows. Valve's and the gaming communities' commitment helped propel more adoption to Linux.

Gaming is the more obvious application that Wine is used for but we can also draw our attention to being able to use productivity tools that are not offered on Linux platforms that only ran on Windows. If you can't find that some of these applications designed for Windows, don't work, more than likely there is an "equivalent" application out there in the wild, either specifically made for Unix/Linux or cross platform. Checkout the previous blog posts for more details.

CONCLUSION

The obvious outcome of Wine's 11.0 release continues to expand the approachability and usability of Unix/Linux for those coming from a Windows background. In no way this is a commentary to suggest one is better than the other between Windows vs Linux, however, this development provides a greater compatibility and how far this project has evolved. If you are already on Unix/Linux this is a big win, and if, you are a Windows user, this could be a simple nudge to at least "try" Linux 😉. Quick "how to" start using Linux listed below. Cheers!

For a more in depth explanation of Wine 11 release, visit wine's official release notes⁵ or visit their official gitlab repository⁶.

For more insight and a simple "how to" check out earlier posts:

• "Using apps specific to Windows on Linux (Introduction)".
• "Testing out Linux for Free before you Commit!".
• "Linux: Navigate System Tools".
• "Cross Platform Graphics Application You Can Use Today".
• Want to expand your gaming library, learn how to install itch.io on Ubuntu?

For miscellanous but related topics regarding Linux and Windows, checkout:

• If you want to fuel your dislike for Microsoft, relive "Windows ends support for Windows 10, Oct 14, 2025".
• If you want to read about an unpopular question to ask the Linux community, read an earlier posts, "If Linux is Free, You're the Product".

REFERERNCES

1. Wine official website winehq.org ↩ ↩²

2. Wikipedia of SteamDeck: SteamDeck released 25 February 2022 ↩

3. (Originally pulled from Wikipedia) Visit Codeweaver's official press release, "CODEWEAVERS’ PROTON SOFTWARE SAUCE POWERS STEAM DECK" ↩

4. PC World's "What is Valve Proton? The Steam Deck's live-or-die Linux software, explained" ↩

5. Wine official website announcement release notes ↩

6. Wine's official GitLab ↩