If GTA 5 is installed on Windows and nixos is installed, is it necessary to reinstall GTA 5?

Help
1

I am thinking of installing nixos today or tomorrow, but I have something stuck in my mind and I have never tried it before. There are 3 disks in my computer.
One is C disk m2. the other is a normal SSD and the 3rd one is HDD.

I store my games on the HDD and when I say my games, I mean that I only have Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5) and I bought this game through Rockstar Games Launcher and installed it from there. I did this installation on Windows, when I switch to Linux, will I have to delete and install the game again or is there a way to launch it directly?
I know this topic is ridiculous but I’m ignorant about this kind of stuff so please understand.

2

Hello and welcome to NixOS discourse.

I am not sure what is your exact plan so I’ll consider three options:

dual-boot and keep playing on Windows

It depends on rockstar’s anticheat. My friend tried dual booting and Valorant argued that something was wrong and he could not play it anymore. That is not likely to happen as Vanguard (the anticheat) is basically a rootkit.

Dual boot and play on Linux by reading Windows’ files

I’m afraid that will not be possible.
Aside from windows using ntfs, which performs worse than native linux filesystems I would assume that Windows and Linux have different layouts (you have no AppData folder for example).

Play on Linux (dual boot or not)

You will need to download the files again.

I hope that this helps.

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3

No, in theory you should be able to reuse the files, as they’re no different whether you run the game through wine or natively on Windows. There won’t be a convenient desktop shortcut you can use, but a redownload is technically unnecessary.

That said, games bought from non-steam platforms can be a royal PITA, and the various tools that make them work more easily often make the download part of the installation script. You may be able to trick them, but you’ll likely have to read and understand whatever script you end up using. YMMV, redownload is likely easier, assuming you can even get it to work in the first place.

NixOS is a tough distro to jump into from no prior Linux experience, you’ll have an easier time with e.g. Fedora or Mint. Try by all means, but expect to be frustrated to no end, and understand that this is one of the most hardcore Linux desktop nerd experiences you can get. Playing games not bought from steam is strike two, reusing Windows stuff is strike three. If you’re still game, folks here will be happy to try and help :wink:

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Right, they do not have a native linux client. I thought that was the case.

5

Wow thank you both for your help and time. I guess I won’t be able to play GTA5, I’ll save my money and buy it on Steam.

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Yes, I was going to do Dual-Boot anyway, thank you for the information.

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It might be worth attempting to use Lutris to install GTA 5 through Rockstar Games Launcher: Grand Theft Auto V - Lutris

I have never tried this myself and cannot vouch if it works, but it may be worth a shot at least.

Also, note that it just installs the Rockstar Games Launcher and runs it with Wine, you would have to then install GTA 5 through the launcher.

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At least give Lutris & co a shot before you rebuy the game, it’s a PITA, not impossible!

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