Wine 8.0 is a new major version of the tool that allows you to run native Windows applications or games on Linux operating systems and on other UNIX-like systems such as Apple MacOS or FreeBSD.

This year, the Wine project celebrates three decades since its launch. And if it didn’t exist, it would have to be invented because it makes it easier to run Windows software (the most widely used) on other operating systems, especially GNU/Linux, where it is included in many of its distributions. And while Linux (or macOS) users are looking for native free system software, there are times when you may need itfor fun or for work, launch an unavailable Windows application or game.

How they are responsible for remembering “Wine is not an emulator” rather, a reimplementation of the Win16 and Win32 Application Programming Interface for Unix-based operating systems. It also offers a set of tools for porting source code from Windows applications. As a sign of its importance, mention that it is the basis of the Proton software that Valve uses to allow Steam Deck users to enjoy Windows games on a portable console.

Wine 8.0, games and more

“This release represents a year of development and over 8,600 individual changes”the developers say in the release notice, which is available for direct download and installation on their website, as well as in their own repositories, from where they recommend upgrading if you’re running a previous version.

The main novelty of Wine 8.0 is his format compatibility Portable Windows executable (PE), a type of executable file that contains all the code needed in a binary file. Obviously, anything that includes a native boot (rather than Windows emulation) will offer better performance, and that’s a big benefit of the support that’s been in the works for the past four years. It also allows use as:

• Running Windows applications with copy protection.
• Using 32-bit applications on computers with 64-bit chips.
• Using x86 applications on PCs with ARM processors.

Another group of improvements is aimed at improve gaming profile on linux. For many users, this is an important section and, as in macOS, limited compared to Windows, which was certainly one of the main reasons why the free system did not increase its market share.

Wine 8.0 makes this task easier on several fronts. On the one hand, support for a larger number of graphics chips has increased, and on the other hand, greater performance in the main libraries, Direct3D and Vulcan. Support for more game controllers has also been added, including Sony’s DualShock and DualSense.

Wine is not perfect; some apps won’t work well and many games will lack responsiveness, but in its nearly 30 years of existence, it hasn’t stopped improving and is best used for running (occasionally) Windows software on Linux and UNIX derivatives.