One launcher. Our games.

milktheft.net

Download the launcher once. It installs the games, keeps them current and starts them. No patches to copy, no realmlists to edit.

Download for Windows macOS (Apple silicon) macOS (Intel)

Linux curl -fsSL https://milktheft.net/install.sh | sh

The game runs through Wine on Linux. Install it first (once):

Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Popsudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt update && sudo apt install wine wine32 wine64

Fedorasudo dnf install wine

Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOSsudo pacman -S wine (enable the multilib repository first)

Steam Deck / SteamOSflatpak install flathub org.winehq.Wine

Account

Make one here or from the launcher. Account name 3 to 16 letters and digits, password 8 to 16 characters. No email, no questions. The login server keeps no password, only a one-way value derived from it, the same scheme the game itself uses.

How to install

Download the launcher above and run it. Windows will warn that it does not know the publisher; choose "More info", then "Run anyway". On a Mac, pick the build for your chip: Apple silicon (M1 through M5) or Intel (Apple menu, About This Mac, says which). Unzip it and drag MilkTheft into Applications. The first open is blocked because the app is not from the App Store: open it once (it will say it can't), then go to System Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll down and press Open Anyway. Older macOS: right-click the app and choose Open. If it still refuses, in Terminal: xattr -cr /Applications/MilkTheft.app and open it again.
Pick a game and press Install. Choose a folder with room for it (Bender's Realm needs about 17 GB). The download resumes if you close the launcher or lose the connection.
Press Play. Log in with the account you created on the website (the Account section above) or from the launcher.

From then on the launcher checks for updates every time it opens and only downloads what changed.

Linux, step by step

Install Wine. The game is a Windows program and Wine runs it; it's a normal package on every distribution. The 3.3.5 client is 32-bit, so on Debian-family systems the 32-bit half of Wine must be installed too:
- Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop: sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 && sudo apt update && sudo apt install wine wine32 wine64
- Fedora: sudo dnf install wine
- Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS: enable multilib in /etc/pacman.conf, then sudo pacman -S wine
- Steam Deck / SteamOS: flatpak install flathub org.winehq.Wine
Check it worked with wine --version. Any Wine from the last few years is fine; the game needs nothing special.
Install the launcher with the one line from the top of the page: curl -fsSL https://milktheft.net/install.sh | sh. It goes into your home folder, adds an app-menu entry and a milktheft command. No root, no package manager.
Start it with milktheft (or from the app menu), press Install, pick a folder with 17 GB free, wait, press Play. The launcher finds Wine on its own.

First launch through Wine takes a little longer while it sets up its Windows folder. If the game window is black or tiny, it's the graphics setting from a previous install: in the game's WTF/Config.wtf remove the gxResolution line. If Play says it cannot start the game, the reason is in ~/.config/MilkTheft/launcher.log. To uninstall: rm -rf ~/.local/share/milktheft ~/.local/bin/milktheft ~/.local/share/applications/milktheft.desktop and delete the game folder.

Questions

I already have the game.

In the launcher, open the game's menu and choose Locate existing install. It checks the files it needs, adds the realm's own bits and leaves the rest alone.

Something is broken.

The game's menu has Scan and repair: every file is checked and anything wrong is downloaded again.

I'm on Linux and Play says it cannot start the game.

Almost always Wine is missing or only the 64-bit half is installed. Run wine --version; if it prints nothing, install Wine with the command for your distribution above. On Debian and Ubuntu, make sure wine32 is installed as well. The exact error is in ~/.config/MilkTheft/launcher.log.

I'm on a Mac.

The launcher installs and updates the game on any Mac. Starting the game is the hard part on Apple silicon (M1 through M5): the 3.3.5 client is a 32-bit Windows program using old floating-point instructions that Rosetta does not translate, so plain Wine and CrossOver on their own crash with "illegal instruction" when you pick the realm. Two free projects fix exactly that, and the launcher hands off to whichever you have:

TurtleSilicon (github.com/Malachoris/turtlesilicon): needs CrossOver 25.0.1 or newer (the trial is enough and keeps working after it expires). Open it, pick "Wrath of the Lich King", point it at CrossOver and at the game folder the launcher installed, press Patch Game and Patch CrossOver, start its translation service (it asks for your Mac password once), Play. Reports of 60 fps on an M1 Pro.
WoWSilicon (wowsilicon.github.io): everything in one app, no CrossOver. Move it to Applications, run xattr -cr /Applications/WoWSilicon.app in Terminal once (it is unsigned), open it, choose the "WrathSilicon 3.3.5a" profile, point it at Wow.exe in the game folder, Patch, Play.

Ignore any advice about D3DMetal: it does not do DirectX 9, which is what this game uses. Intel Macs can also use Homebrew's brew install --cask wine-stable.

Is it free?

Yes. Nothing on milktheft.net costs money and nothing ever will.