Linux and Mac MMORPG: Where Ancient Online: Remastered Stands on Linux and macOS

If you play on Linux or a Mac, you know how hard it is to find a Linux MMORPG or an MMORPG for Mac that is really built with your system in mind. For Ancient Online: Remastered, the answer has two parts. Linux and macOS are two of the game's five target platforms, next to Windows, Android and iOS, and all five are being built around one account and one world. But today the development build is tested on Windows and Android devices only; there is no Linux or macOS build to download yet. This post sets out where things stand: what "target platform" means, the published system requirements for Linux and macOS, and what a Linux or Mac player can do right now.

Ancient Online: Remastered is in development; it is currently in closed alpha and no release date has been announced. Platform support and the values below are targets and may change before launch.

Which platforms is the game being built for?

Ancient Online: Remastered is a free-to-play MMORPG built in Unreal Engine 5.8. It targets five platforms, and they are not all at the same stage:

"Target platform" is a deliberate choice of words. It means the platform is part of the plan, it has its own table on the system requirements page, and the design of the game (one account, one world, the same rules on the server) counts on it. It does not mean there is a build you can install today.

Is there a native Linux or macOS version today?

Not yet, and we would rather say so plainly. We will not describe the game as "running natively" on Linux or macOS until a build has actually been tested on those systems; until then, the accurate word is targeted.

What the requirement tables already show is the technical direction: Windows lists DirectX 12, Linux lists Vulkan 1.3, and macOS lists the integrated Apple GPU through Metal. Each platform needs its own build and its own round of testing on real devices, and a platform opens when it has passed that testing, not before.

When a build for a platform is published, its button appears on the Download the Game page. A platform that has no published build is simply not listed there.

Linux system requirements

These are the target values published for Linux:

Two things are worth noting:

• The hardware values are the same as for Windows. Processor, memory, graphics card and disk space do not change; what differs is the list of distributions and the graphics API.
• Vulkan 1.3 is required. Before anything else, check that your graphics driver supports Vulkan 1.3; a card that meets the table can still fall short if its driver is too old.

macOS system requirements

These are the target values published for macOS:

The minimum processor is the Apple M1, so the target is Macs with Apple silicon: a MacBook or a desktop Mac with an M1 chip or newer. Intel-based Macs fall outside the published minimum.

On both platforms an SSD is required because the game loads a single, continuous open world from disk as you move through it. To see what each graphics setting does, read the system requirements and graphics settings guide.

One account, one world

Linux and macOS are not planned as a separate corner of the game. All five platforms are being designed to connect to the same servers, your account is not tied to a device, and because the rules of the game run on the server, they are the same whichever system you play on. We explain how that works, along with the touch controls and gamepad support, in the PC and mobile cross-platform guide.

What can a Linux or Mac player do today?

1. Check your system against the tables. The current values are always on the system requirements page; if they change, that page changes first.
2. Follow the announcements. When a platform moves into testing, we announce it in our Discord community and on this blog.
3. Learn how the closed alpha works. At this stage you enter the game with an access key; the closed alpha guide explains the key, the download page and in-game registration.
4. Get to know the game. What is Ancient Online: Remastered? covers the three empires, the six classes and the systems that are waiting for you.

If you also have a Windows PC or an Android device, those are the platforms the development build is tested on today.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ancient Online: Remastered a native Linux MMORPG?

Linux is a target platform with its own published requirements, including Vulkan 1.3. A Linux build has not been tested yet, so we do not claim native support today; we will announce it when a build is ready for testing.

Will it run on my MacBook?

The published minimum for macOS is an Apple M1 processor, 8 GB of memory and macOS 12 Monterey. A MacBook that meets those values is within the target; Intel-based models are outside the published minimum. There is no macOS build to try today.

Can I run the Windows build on Linux or macOS through a compatibility layer?

That is not one of the tested setups. The development build is tested on Windows and Android devices only, so we cannot promise anything about it.

Will Linux and Mac players be on the same servers as everyone else?

Yes; all platforms are being designed to connect to the same world, with the same account.

When will the Linux and macOS versions be available?

No date has been announced, either for the game or for any single platform. Announcements will be made in our Discord community and on this blog.

Next step

Compare your system with the system requirements page, then read the PC and mobile cross-platform guide to see how one account works across devices. To hear first when a platform opens for testing, join our Discord community.