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Title: The state of Steam on OpenBSD |
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Author: Solène |
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Date: 01 December 2021 |
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Tags: openbsd gaming steam |
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Description: Steam isn't available on OpenBSD, this article explains |
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why |
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# Introduction |
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There is a very common question within the OpenBSD community, mostly |
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from newcomers: "How can I install Steam on OpenBSD?". |
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The answer is: You can't, there is no way, this is impossible, period. |
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# Why? |
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Steam is a closed source program, while it's now also available on |
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Linux doesn't mean it run on OpenBSD. The Linux Steam version is |
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compiled for linux and without the sources we can't port it on OpenBSD. |
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Even if Steam was able to be installed and could be launched, games are |
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not made for OpenBSD and wouldn't work either. |
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On FreeBSD it may be possible to install Windows Steam using Wine, but |
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Wine is not available on OpenBSD because it require some specific |
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Kernel memory management we don't want to implement for security |
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reasons (I don't have the whole story), but FreeBSD also has a Linux |
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compatibility mode to run Linux binaries, allowing to use programs |
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compiled for Linux. This linux emulation layer has been dropped in |
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OpenBSD a few years ago because it was old and unmaintained, bringing |
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more issues than helping. |
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So, you can't install Steam or use it on OpenBSD. If you need Steam, |
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use a supported operating system. |
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I wanted to make an article about this in hope my text will be well |
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referenced within search engines, to help people looking for Steam on |
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OpenBSD by giving them a reliable answer. |
