Best Open-Source FPS Games You Can Play Free in 2026
The best open-source FPS games in 2026, with licence, engine, latest release, bots and Linux install route for Xonotic, Red Eclipse, Unvanquished and more.
Published . Updated . 6 min read.
The best open-source FPS games in 2026 are Xonotic for fast arena battles, Red Eclipse 2 for modern visuals and Unvanquished for tactical team play. All three are free, run natively on Linux and support bots for offline practice. AssaultCube is a good fit for older hardware, while Quetoo is the most recently updated.
The details come from each game's official website, GitHub releases or Flathub page, checked on 9 November 2026. We link to each source so you can check it too.
Quick picks
- Best overall arena shooter: Xonotic
- Best modern-looking: Red Eclipse 2
- Best team and strategy hybrid: Unvanquished
- Best for old hardware: AssaultCube
- Best Quake-style classics: Quetoo and OpenArena
- Best for building maps: Cube 2: Sauerbraten
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Game facts table
| Game | Engine | Code licence | Asset licence | Latest release (last checked 9 Nov 2026) | Bots / offline | Linux install route | Steam / Deck note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xonotic | DarkPlaces | GPLv3+ (engine GPLv2+) | See COPYING | 0.8.6 (tagged 19 Jun 2023) | Yes | Flathub or zip | Not on Steam |
| Red Eclipse 2 | Tesseract | zlib | Mostly CC BY-SA | v2.0.0 (19 Dec 2019) | Yes, offline practice | Steam, Flathub or AppImage | Free on Steam, Windows and GNU/Linux listed |
| Unvanquished | Daemon | GPL (some BSD files) | CC BY-SA 2.5 | 0.56.2 (12 May 2026) | Yes, via console | Flathub or download | Not on Steam |
| AssaultCube | Cube | zlib-like | Flathub marks "Special License" | v1.3.0.2 (25 Mar 2022) | Yes | Flathub or tarball | Not on Steam |
| Quetoo | id Tech 2 based | GPL v2 | Creative Commons | v1.0.145 (8 Nov 2026) | Yes, offline practice mode | tar.gz from GitHub | Not on Steam |
| OpenArena | id Tech 3 (GPL) | GPL (idTech3) | Community-made; map pack GPLv2 (per project) | 0.8.8 (Feb 2012) | Single-player campaign | ZIP from project | Not on Steam |
| Cube 2: Sauerbraten | Cube 2 | zlib | See docs | 2020 Edition (21 Dec 2020) | Singleplayer listed | Download for Linux | Not on Steam |
"Not on Steam" means no Steam listing was found through the project's own links. We make no Steam Deck claims beyond what a project or store page states.
The chart compares the latest tagged releases, not overall development activity. An older release doesn't necessarily mean a project has stopped development. Check its news page or repository activity for a fuller picture.
The games
Xonotic: best overall arena shooter
Xonotic is a fast arena FPS powered by the DarkPlaces engine. Its download page offers version 0.8.6 as a zip file that runs without installation, alongside a Flatpak option.
The listed requirements include OpenGL 2.1 and at least 4GB of RAM, with Linux x86-64 builds available. According to the project's COPYING file, the game source is licensed under GPLv3 or later, while the DarkPlaces engine uses GPLv2 or later.
Bots: An administrator on the Xonotic forums explains how to add bots to local matches using the bot_number or minplayers settings.
Install on Linux: Run flatpak install flathub org.xonotic.Xonotic, or download and unzip the release.
Red Eclipse 2: best modern-looking
Red Eclipse 2 runs on the Tesseract engine and combines shooting with parkour, dashes and impulse boosts.
The official download page recommends Steam, where the game is free. Its Steam page lists both Windows and GNU/Linux.
The project's licence file puts the code under zlib. Game content is generally licensed under Creative Commons BY or BY-SA, with CC BY-SA as the default.
Bots: Co-developer Quinton Reeves explains bot behaviour in offline practice in this Reddit thread.
Install on Linux: Choose Steam, Flathub or the AppImage. According to the project, the AppImage is the only non-Steam build that updates itself.
Unvanquished: best team and strategy hybrid
Unvanquished describes itself as "a real-time strategy game played as a first-person shooter". Its battles pit aliens against armed humans.
According to its GitHub page, the game continues Tremulous and uses the Daemon engine. The COPYING file places the code under the GPL, apart from two BSD-licensed files. Media assets use CC BY-SA 2.5.
Bots: The Unvanquished wiki says bots are fully implemented, although they must be configured through the console. One example is bot add Bacon humans.
Install on Linux: Get the game through Flathub or the project download.
AssaultCube: best for old hardware
AssaultCube is a shooter with a realistic setting, built on the original Cube engine.
The project site states that the game is about 50MB, works over a 56 Kbps connection and can run on Pentium III machines with suitable settings.
The code uses a zlib-like licence. Flathub labels the package "Special License", so check the asset terms before redistributing.
Bots: The site lists a single-player bot system.
Install on Linux: Use Flathub or download the GitHub release. The latest tagged version is v1.3.0.2, dated 25 March 2022.
Quetoo: best modern Quake-style classic
Quetoo is a free FPS based on id Tech 2, featuring remakes of levels from Quake, Quake 2 and Quake 3.
Its code is licensed under GPL v2, while its artwork uses Creative Commons licences. An October 2026 news post also details rewritten bots and a new offline practice mode.
Install on Linux: Download the .tar.gz archives from the GitHub releases page. v1.0.145 was published on 8 November 2026.
OpenArena: the Quake III-style original
The OpenArena website describes the game as "a community-produced deathmatch FPS based on GPL idTech3 technology".
It's a separate game with community-made content rather than Quake III itself. A 2014 news post says its community map pack is GPLv2-compliant.
Version 0.8.8, released in February 2012, remains the current release listed on the site.
Who it's for: players after the classic Quake III rules without paying. Who it isn't for: players looking for frequent updates.
Cube 2: Sauerbraten: best for building maps
Sauerbraten is a free FPS with singleplayer and multiplayer modes. Its standout feature is co-operative map editing directly inside the game.
The Cube 2 engine code uses the zlib licence. The latest available download is the 2020 Edition, released on 21 December 2020.
Also worth a look
Digital Paint: Paintball 2 and Warsow/Warfork also appear in lists of open-source FPS games. We did not verify their current licence and release status, so they are not in the main comparison.
Where the original OpenFrag fits
The openfrag.org name goes back to an open-source first-person shooter that used this domain from 2003 to 2013. Our history page explains what the original project was and how it connects to this site.
Kit to play them on
These games don't demand powerful hardware, but input matters in arena shooters.
See our guides to the best gaming mouse for Linux, gaming headsets for Linux, mechanical keyboards for FPS, controllers for Linux and GPUs for Linux gaming.
Planning to play Red Eclipse on a Deck? Our Steam Deck accessories guide covers docks and cases.
FAQ
What is the best open-source FPS game?
Xonotic is the best choice for most players. It's fast, has strong Linux support and includes bots for offline matches.
Are there free FPS games on Linux?
Yes. Every game covered here is free and provides either a Linux build or a Linux download.
Is Xonotic still active?
Its latest tagged release is version 0.8.6 from June 2023. The download page also provides a Flatpak that receives updates through your software centre.
Which open-source shooters have bots for offline play?
Xonotic, Red Eclipse 2, Unvanquished, AssaultCube and Quetoo all have documented bot support. Unvanquished requires bots to be configured through the console.
Do these run on a Steam Deck?
Red Eclipse 2 is available free on Steam, with a GNU/Linux build listed. The other games aren't listed on Steam, and no Steam Deck compatibility claims are made for them.
Is OpenArena the same as Quake III?
No. According to its official website, OpenArena is a separate, community-produced game based on the GPL release of id Tech 3.
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