Roblox does not officially support Linux, but Linux users can run using Sober, an unofficial third-party ‘port’ that works without Wine (hence the name).
I know; this isn’t a ‘game’ most of you are itching to play. Roblox users are mostly under 16, access it via mobiles and have an unhealthy interest in Robux, the in-game virtual currency.
But you may – as I – have snotty relatives who demand to play it on your laptop because their tablet needs charging…
Performance ‘the same or better’ than Windows
Sober is a ‘specialised runtime just for Roblox’s code’ made by the Vinegar project, whose namesake tool can run Roblox Studio on Linux via Wine.
No emulation or virtual machines are involved here1, and Sober provides access to all of Roblox’s PC-only features, chat, sounds and, of course, browsing and joining “games”.
Games on Roblox are ‘experiences’. Brookhaven RP is one of the most visited Roblox experiences – as is 99 Nights in the Forest, a title etched into my sympathetic nervous system because one of my nephews (7) said it in full, 20 times a sentence for 2 days straight.
Games run on official servers, so you need to be online to play, and graphics render locally. Performance on Linux is said to be “the same or better than the Windows client” on the same hardware.
Not open-source, and only available on Flathub
Sober isn’t supported or approved by Roblox Corporation, and server-side changes could break features partly or wholly at any time. Your account shouldn’t be banned for using it as Sober‘s FAQ says normal use ‘rarely’ results in moderation action.
The effort is not open-source, either. Vinegar say they’ve chosen to keep the code closed source to ‘reduce the potential for abuse’. Furthermore, Sober is also only available to install through Flathub with no plans to offer other package formats.
On the plus side, its system requirements are modest; an x86-64 CPU with SSE4.1 support (SSE4.2 recommended) and a GPU that handles OpenGL ES 3.0 (Vulkan 1.1 recommended). Ample free RAM helps (so close a few browser tabs).
An experimental ARM build is available, but to access installers you need to join the project’s Discord.
Get Sober on Flathub