Windows

Given the popularity of Windows as a desktop OS, it’s natural to wonder if the Games on Whales system can be run on Windows. Unfortunately, as of right now, the answer is "no, not really". There are a couple of reasons why:

  • Windows as a Server OS

    Although Windows is popular as a desktop OS, and there are certainly many server solutions built on top of Windows, it really isn’t a very common server OS in home/hobbyist setups.

  • Docker on Windows

    Docker on Windows requires an extra layer of virtualization that can slow things down, and even cause extra headaches, particularly when networking is involved.

  • WSL2

    WSL2 is missing the uinput kernel module, and although we have been able to build the module ourselves, Xorg still fails to launch after doing so. That should be a solvable problem, but it will require some investigation to get going.

For those reasons, we believe that on Windows, your best bet is to just install Sunshine and other applications like you normally would, even though it means foregoing the benefits of containerization. Having said that, we’re open to the idea that that may not always be the case, and we’re open to new ideas and efforts to make progress on running GoW on Windows. You can follow the current status here