Install widelands with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, winget, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• widelands

Project history

Secondary project histories date the first public version of Widelands to August 2002. The project then spent many years in a beta-build era, gradually adding its own tribes, maps, campaigns, Lua-powered content scripting, localization, and multiplayer support while keeping the Settlers II-style road, ware, worker, and economy-management loop at its center.

A major milestone arrived on June 15, 2021, when the Widelands Development Team released Widelands 1.0 as the first stable release after the beta Builds series. The 1.0 notes emphasized the Amazons tribe, an add-on system, a long-term stable Lua API for content designers, keyboard and UI improvements, redesigned menus, and expanded translation status.

The project continued active stable releases after 1.0. Version 1.3, announced in December 2024, highlighted market trading, economy districts, map changes, encyclopedia improvements, website-map downloads as add-ons, editor visualization modes, and new add-on developer capabilities. Version 1.3.1 followed in February 2026 as a stable point release.

Adoption history

Widelands' adoption history is typical of a long-lived libre game: it spread through source releases, community forums, distribution packaging, and later GitHub-hosted development. The 1.0 release notes explicitly targeted Windows, macOS, Linux source users, Flatpak users, and a Ubuntu PPA, and pointed players toward forums, IRC on LiberaChat, and mailing lists for multiplayer and contribution.

The GitHub project had roughly 2.9k stars and 204 forks in July 2026, a useful signal that Widelands is no longer just a nostalgia clone but an actively followed open-source game project with a contributor base and a modern release workflow.

How it is used

Players use Widelands as a slow-paced economy strategy game: they build roads, assign workers, manage resource chains, expand territory, and grow a small settlement into a larger economy. Advanced users also use its map editor and add-on system to create maps, scenarios, and content; project contributors use the Lua API and C++ codebase to extend gameplay and automation.

Why package nerds care

For package collectors, Widelands is notable because it is a substantial native open-source game with real assets, cross-platform builds, translations, and a long pre-1.0 history. It is the kind of package that tests more than a simple CLI formula: desktop integration, large assets, compilers, scripting data, and multiplayer-capable game content all matter.

Timeline

• 2002-08: First public Widelands version, according to secondary project histories.
• 2021-06-15: Widelands 1.0 released as the first stable version after the beta Builds series.
• 2024-12-21: Widelands 1.3 released with market trading, economy districts, map/editor/add-on improvements, and updated platform builds.
• 2026-02-22: Widelands 1.3.1 released as a stable point release.

Related projects

• Widelands is historically tied to the gameplay lineage of The Settlers and The Settlers II, but it is an independent GPL project rather than a source port. Its ecosystem also includes community-made maps, add-ons, translations, and release channels such as Flatpak and project-maintained builds.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widelands - secondary project history and release-date summary
• https://github.com/widelands/widelands - upstream README and repository overview
• https://github.com/widelands/widelands/releases/tag/v1.0 - Widelands 1.0 release notes
• https://github.com/widelands/widelands/releases/tag/v1.3 - Widelands 1.3 release notes
• https://github.com/widelands/widelands/releases/tag/v1.3.1 - Widelands 1.3.1 release notes