It’s starting to look more and more like the scariest, most terrifying xenomorph experience since the original Alien is coming to Linux.
Traces of Linux support for Alien: Isolation first appeared on SteamDB (which scrapes info from Steam’s database) two months ago, but a new clue suggests the announcement may be imminent.
The release notes for AMD’s newly released Catalyst 15.9 Linux drivers published with the following listed as a known issue: “[425912] Alien: Isolation – Blank screen or corruption observed on the main menu in game,” as our World Beyond Windows columnist Chris Hoffman first noticed in that post.
The Alien: Isolation mention in the since-scrubbed AMD Catalyst 15.9 drivers for Linux release notes.
That’s curious, because Linux support for Alien: Isolation has never been announced, and if you visit the Alien Isolation listing on Steam, it only lists specification requirements for Windows PCs. AMD has since scrubbed all mention of the game from the release notes, but you can still see them in a Google cache of the page.
The story behind the story: Assuming Alien: Isolation indeed hits Linux, it’ll be the latest in a long and growing list of top-tier games that now call Linux home. Why all the open-source love all of a sudden? Chalk it up to the fall release of Valve’s Steam Machines, which run an operating system based on the Linux kernel.