Trouble installing Gamescope

Ubuntu Version:
Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS

Desktop Environment (if applicable):
XFCE

Problem Description:
Been trying to get gamescope on my computer hoping it’ll let me eke out better frame rates from games. However, sudo apt-get install gamescope just gives me a message saying

This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or
is only available from another source

E: Package 'gamescope' has no installation candidate

I’ve tried downloading and building a version myself from the github page but every time I enter the commands listed in the “Build” section of the readme I get an error message. How can I fix this?

Screenshots or Error Messages:
meson.build:60:24: ERROR: Subproject exists but has no CMakeLists.txt file.

Full meson log here:
https://endeavour.kamprad.net/pastebin/?fcbe7b9913a79f02#9txpdkNpQUkfJMcPKtBawMZBYZ9cmZHYLz2vpdXDMmGg

What I’ve Tried:
Searching for ppas that have recent versions of gamescope. The only ones I could find are at least two years old.

Using the flatpak version of gamescope - problem is I’m not using the flatpak version of Steam, and would rather not go to the trouble of switching versions just to use gamescope unless there’s really no other option.

apt show gamescope
Package: gamescope
Version: 3.16.1-1
Priority: optional
Section: multiverse/games
Origin: Ubuntu
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Original-Maintainer: Debian Games Team <pkg-games-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Bugs: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+filebug
Installed-Size: 3,456 kB
Depends: xwayland, libavif16 (>= 1.1.1), libc6 (>= 2.38), libcap2 (>= 1:2.10), >
Recommends: seatd
Suggests: libcap2-bin, pipewire-audio
Homepage: https://github.com/Plagman/gamescope
Download-Size: 1,029 kB
APT-Sources: http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu questing/multiverse amd64 Packages
Description: Micro-compositor for game scaling
 Gamescope wraps your games to give them scaling and fullscreen options. It
 provides a Wayland compositor to your games, but gamescope runs under both
 Wayland and X.org.
 .
 Your game sees a virtual display at the resolution you specified. You see a
 scaled view in a window or fullscreen. This is useful when either the game or
 your system do not permit running the game at native window/screen sizes. You

Is Section: multiverse enabled on your end?

I don’t know how to check if that’s done or how to enable it if it isn’t enabled already.

sudo add-apt-repository multiverse will do the trick.

1 Like

Just added multiverse, but still getting this when I type in “apt show gamescope:”

package: gamescope
State: not a real package (virtual)
N: Can't select candidate version from package gamescope as it has no candidate
N: Can't select versions from package 'gamescope' as it is purely virtual
N: No packages found

Aha! It’s not in the repositories until 25.04. So, unless you want to upgrade, you’re stuck without.

https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gamescope

What should I know before I decide whether or not to upgrade Ubuntu versions?

That’s a different topic entirely and a loaded question. You need to express your concerns first as there’s nothing to really tell.

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