Valve’s Steam Deck has proven to be an enormous success, but the custom Linux-based OS has always been a thorn in the side of certain developers. Some have alleged that it gives nefarious players easier ways to cheat, which is why popular battle royale games like Valorant, PUBG and Fortnite aren’t available for the console. We can add Apex Legends to that pile, as EA just announced its withdrawing both Steam Deck and Linux support.
“In our efforts to combat cheating in Apex, we’ve identified Linux OS as being a path for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats. As a result, we’ve decided to block Linux OS access to the game,” the company wrote in a blog post. “We believe the decision will meaningfully reduce instances of cheating in our game.”
Apex Legends does have access to Epic Games’ Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) software, which has been compatible with Linux for years. This must have not been a good enough safeguard against cheating. It didn’t allow Fortnite onto the Steam Deck, after all, and that game’s actually made by Epic. To that end, devs on Steam will now have to disclose kernel mode anti-cheat software.
It remains to be seen if Linux is simply harder to develop anti-cheating measures for or if doing so is just an added expense at a time when game developers have been tightening their purse strings. Phillip Koskinas, director of anti-cheat on Valorant, indicated to The Verge that bad actors could “make a Linux distribution that’s purpose-built for cheating and we’d be smoked.”
It’s not all bad news for Apex Legends fans who prefer to play on a portable console. It’ll run on the Steam Deck, so long as you install Windows. Valve hasn’t released its own dual-boot installer, so you’ll have to rely on fairly complicated third-party solutions to get the job done.
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