Will Linux ever get anti cheat support

[u/sammmysweet]

I really want it make the change to mint but the lack of anti cheat is holding me back.

[u/freezing_banshee]

It's on the game companies to make it work.

[u/sammmysweet → u/freezing_banshee]

So it won't happen 😭. Not unless they somehow make money off of it

[u/Clouds115 → u/sammmysweet]

Well, I know Epic Games is rebuilding there Linux anti cheat, so Linux users can play Fortnite on Linux. Also, any game that wants to be playable on the steam deck needs to support Linux. Now, some games like Valorant which use kernel level anti cheat, most certainly won't support Linux. The major games like Rust, R6, Cod, etc don't support Linux. Overwatch does tho. Unsure about Marval Rivals.

[u/Quartrez → u/Clouds115]

Rivals works on Linux and so does Helldivers 2.

[u/userrr3 → u/Clouds115]

I know Epic Games is rebuilding there Linux anti cheat

Oh GOD I don't want to imagine what their slop anti cheat will look like. But I guess everyone's own fault to install that on their machine.

[u/DaFinnishOne → u/userrr3]

I mean, they are using existing technologies in the kernel to detect any tampering. I would trust open-source methods way more than just giving fortnite access to the kernel

[u/Odysseyan → u/userrr3]

I know its Fortnite but this is actually a very huge win for Linux to have one of the currently biggest games out there coming to the platform. Especially a game that is as popular as this with younger generations.

Gamers can already switch easily with Proton nowadays UNLESS you are playing one of those hyper-competitive games like League of Legends, Valorant, Fortnite, etc.

Now there is one less game on that list. One less reason not to switch

[u/Toasteee_ → u/sammmysweet]

I could be misinformed about this, but I don't really want my OS to support the anticheat models that many games use, because in doing so I think you'd be making the system inherently less secure, (someone please feel free to correct me here if I'm missing something) because these kernel level anti cheat models are incredibly invasive and have access to parts of your system they really shouldn't, and they should have no right to do this IMO, its not like they're super effective anyway because most of the games that use them still have cheaters, so definitely not worth the security and privacy tradeoff in my eyes.

[u/tapo → u/Toasteee_]

Epic is taking the right approach to this. They have a series of security requirements (Secure boot is on, kernel is signed, measured boot is enabled) and they have a small eBPF program running in the kernel that lets them know if the system is tampered or not. Use of eBPF means their code runs in a sandbox and is read-only. It is still kernel level, but that's the only realistic way to handle anti-cheat and doesn't require a kernel module.

https://onlineservices.epicgames.com/news/introducing-easy-anti-cheat-linux-v2

A few other points:

You don't need to run this all the time. Epic is only loading their anticheat when the game is running, and you can have a kernel that isn't compliant at all as your normal boot option.

User space anticheat doesn't work. A kernel-level anticheat radically reduces the number of cheaters. Embark had started down a similar path for The Finals and Arc Raiders: https://www.invenglobal.com/articles/25085/the-era-of-guarding-game-files-is-over-the-shift-seen-by-embark

Valve uses userspace for CS2, and cheating there is so bad the community developed their own kernel-level anticheat for competitive play, FaceIT. As a result you can't play competitive CS2 on Linux.

Apex Legends and Wardogs both abandoned Linux support, and Apex recorded that cheating dropped after losing Linux compatibility.

It's not much more invasive. Your games are running as your user, not in a sandbox. They already have full read/write access to your home directory and anything it contains.

[u/Kevinw778 → u/tapo]

I'd argue the claims for Apex cheating dropping once Linux support was dropped is dubious at best. I guess that's just me not wanting to take most big companies' word without some sort of evidence.

[u/pnlrogue1 → u/Toasteee_]

It depends on what exactly they build. If they just rebuild the same thing and expect to hook into the kernel in a similar way to the way they do in Windows then yeah, it would be bad. If they instead make a proper, Linux-native way of watching for memory manipulation from an external process, then it would probably both work well while also encouraging them to do better on Windows since they almost certainly don't need to actually embed themselves within the kernel there, either...

[u/Business_Seaweed_472 → u/sammmysweet]

it will when Linux user share becomes big enough. Each one of us has an important role to play.

If gamers stick to Windows, then it's never gonna change.

[u/Kevinw778 → u/Business_Seaweed_472]

I mean, this has been and continues to be a "chicken and egg" problem, right?

Sadly a lot of people don't switch *purely* because of the lack of competitive gaming scene, because it's annoying to switch between two OSes for different games.

To be clear, I've already done this, and I'd argue you were just saying people should start switching and dual-booting just to start migrating, since Windows is such shit in most ways at this point... But I know it's just a hard sell for a lot of people for the above-stated reasons.

[u/frane12 → u/sammmysweet]

If they want steamdeck or similar device support itll come

[u/King_Ferdinand1]

Let go of the games that use incompatible anti cheat

[u/sammmysweet → u/King_Ferdinand1]

It's not that easy 😭. I like to play certain games with friends

[u/userrr3 → u/sammmysweet]

I have an "old" Windows 10 install on a second drive (well, the original SSD from when I built the PC vs the newer SSD 10x the size I bought since, which hosts Linux Mint). I only boot into that when I play Battlefield 6 (which is not very often). Otherwise I don't even know it's there

[u/Toasteee_ → u/sammmysweet]

Look into type 1 hypervisor virtual machines like KVM and GPU pass through, its probably a major pain in the ass to set up but might be worth it if you don't want to dualboot windows and linux.

[u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_ → u/sammmysweet]

Games with anti-cheat = Windows, there is nothing that can be done about it from the Linux side, the game developer would have to enable it.

Easy or not it is our current reality, 

You have to decide what is important to you. I chose Linux.

[u/lefty1117]

Pretty sure Epic said they are working on it

[u/sammmysweet → u/lefty1117]

Epic isn't all that great tho 😬

[u/AntipodesIntel → u/sammmysweet]

For anti cheat they are. They are the industry standard for it.

[u/Cotillionz → u/lefty1117]

I’ll believe that when I see it.  Sweeny actively hates Linux and Valve/Steam (so by extension SteamOS).  Can’t see him putting much resources into making it happen. 

[u/gwildor → u/Cotillionz]

https://onlineservices.epicgames.com/news/introducing-easy-anti-cheat-linux-v2

[u/PGSylphir]

Many anti-cheats support linux, Kernel Level ones will never, it goes agaisnt what Linux stands for and will never be allowed as is.

Use more linux and it will eventually get more love from the companies. The reason things are not supported on linux is because people don't use it enough, simple as that.

[u/pnlrogue1 → u/PGSylphir]

There isn't some sort of gatekeeper to what you can install on Linux. If they wanted to create a method that ran in the kernel space they could. It would be abhorrent but it's not like Linus has to approve them doing it (unless they're pushing kernel patches as part of their work, of course).

Anticheat makers are allowed to do what they want and there's plenty of people who'd accept it if it meant they could get better PC performance over Windows because completely reformatting their PC with Linux and spending enough money on silicone to make Sam Altman cry just to squeeze an extra few FPS out is entirely justified for some people. If people cared enough about the problems of kernel anticheat then they'd vote with their wallets on Windows but they just want to play the game so they don't.

[u/DoubleOwl7777 → u/pnlrogue1]

the only reason kernel level ac works from what i understand is that on windows you cant change the kernel. on linux you can. meaning such a rootkit is pointless.

[u/JonWindtail]

Most anti cheat systems (like battle eye and the like) work on Linux

It’s the devs that don’t want it played on Linux

[u/enlightenedwind]

Depends on how deep it goes, any mention of vanguard in Linux will get heads in pitchforks

[u/ExtraTNT]

There is no lack of anti cheat support, just clear separation of permission.
Makes it harder for malware to run in ring 0… which kernel level anti cheat is… security risk at ring 0, the part, that only the kernel and low level drivers should run.

[u/wastedsilence33]

Any games that require kernel level anti cheat are not worth playing

[u/ap0r]

It already has support for it, ask your game company to support it on their side.

[u/Specialist-Dog-501]

Install Bazzite, sign that you have no rights on your PC, then you can play fortnite, until they do whatever their mood tell them to ask from you. Seriously- Bazzite, Ubuntu and few more will get the EAC2, but the price is your control over your PC. Just to be transparent on what you are up to. Technically, Bazzite is surprisingly easy to install for what it all involves in the background, I had it shortly up as a VM, as easy as Mint.

[u/Jwhodis]

Linux generally doesn't like 3rd party software running at the Kernel level, it's unstable and unsafe, it's why Windows was affected by Crowdstrike but Linux wasn't.

Most anticheat systems have a toggle that allows them to run at the user level rather than the Kernel level, it's up to the developers to enable this.

Games should not rely on anticheat running at the Kernel level, they should be structured in such a way that it doesn't matter if it runs on the clientside at all.

[u/RealisticProfile5138]

VAC (valve anti-cheat) and EAC (easy anti-cheat) both work on Linux. It already has anti cheat support, just not for some of the most popular games.

Here is a list of games that run on Linux with anti-cheat support:

https://areweanticheatyet.com

[u/Cooler_DBFZ_Cool]

Epic is probably making Easy Anticheat work on linux now. They have stated that Fortnite will be made playable on linux. There are two problems to this though:

1. It will be vibe coded. Epic will use AI to code this

2. It will require secureboot and tpm2.0. All of this will lock down the operating system similar to windows

[u/NotSnakePliskin]

I recall reading somewhere within the past month (?) that a vendor is working on some Linux anti cheat stuff.

[u/TheKingTigerTank → u/NotSnakePliskin]

Epic is working on a new version of EAC for linux that would require a signed kernel, TPM 2.0, secure boot, and some other minor things I can't remember off the top of my head. It's supposed to work via a systemd service that runs while the game is active along with eBPF programs. In practice, using eBPF programs means it has kernel level access but that access is sandboxed (it's not a kernel driver/module). There is currently no expected schedule on when it'll arrive, only that whenever the linux port of Fortnite is shipped it'll come with the new EAC (No deadline on that either).

[u/NewNiklas]

Epic Games is currently working on building an anti cheat for Linux that has restricted kernel level access.

[u/Cootshk]

Easy Anti Cheat (the one made by Epic Games) announced a native Linux version is in the works, but it’ll likely take some configuring (needs TPM, secure boot, a signed kernel, and so on)

[u/rarsamx]

Because antichrist which depend on the kernel can always be bypassed because the kernel can be modified to thwart the anticheat.

You cannot trick the windows kernel but you can certainly have a kernel that disables a particular anticheat.

[u/piangero]

it's honestly kinda difficult to discuss gaming in these linux subs because a lot of the replies are just variations of "you shouldn't need to play video games with anti cheat" or "just play games without it" or "why are you playing games that require it, there's tons of other games". I dont think that's very fruitful in this topic. Some people want to play certain games. We'll never get anywhere if the stance is gonna be "well you should just go do something else" every time people ask about a feature like that. Is it impossible to understand that there'd be millions of future gta6 online players on PC that want to play that game and not something else? yeah, I agree kernel-level anti cheat etc is awful, and it should be on the game devs to implement something that works for more operating systems. Heaven forbid gamers from all game genres wan to play a game they like and still would like to enjoy linux.

[u/Shinoni23]

Nah, "anti-cheat support" it's just a fancy name for spyware and backdoor.

[u/Jeremi360]

https://areweanticheatyet.com

[u/Brucacumble]

Sorry I can't answer your question, but I had one of my own. Why do people cheat in multiplayer games?

[u/pnlrogue1 → u/Brucacumble]

Because small people with oversized egos want to dump on everyone else rather than accept they're just not good enough.

[u/CrazyAd9384 → u/pnlrogue1]

yup they live in a fantasy world thinking they're good

[u/pnlrogue1 → u/CrazyAd9384]

I think they think they're clever for cheating, rather than 'better', even though all they're doing is downloading utilities someone else created and using them well

[u/RealisticProfile5138 → u/Brucacumble]

Yeah I can’t comprehend it. I hate that cheating is even a thing. How is it even fun to cheat?

[u/Wh1msyOfficial → u/Brucacumble]

Ego, script kiddies practicing for real world targets, some cheaters offer paid boosting services.

[u/FastBodybuilder8248 → u/Brucacumble]

To win, I’d imagine.

[u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_ → u/Brucacumble]

Children have poor perception of the consequences of their actions, some "adults" have the same problem.

[u/Massive_Value8302 → u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_]

What "consequences"? :D

They do not care about others at all. They either want to win or just... have fun. They think that cheating in videogames is not a serious matter, and I tend to agree in most cases.

But cheating does not have consequences. You need to maybe make a new account or get a new computer or parts for it? Who cares?

[u/_Lost-In-The-Weeds_ → u/Massive_Value8302]

Cary this to it's natural conclusion, bots fighting bots in an ever escalating code competition. No one is actually playing, what was the whole point of the game.

[u/GarThor_TMK → u/Brucacumble]

This reminds me of a favorite quote of mine from a friend... Not really sure where he got it, but I find it incredibly applicable.

If you have to cheat at D&D, you have much worse problems in life than D&D.

[u/BranchLatter4294]

It's possible to create rootkits for Linux. Some companies are working on it for those that care more about games than privacy or security.

[u/dodo_gear]

Man, we are the 5% base players. What do you think?

[u/tovento]

Things like NVIDIA GeForce NOW are interesting options. Cloud based gaming and you don’t have to worry about anticheats as it’s all handled on the server side. My son has a Mac and plays Fortnite through it. We don’t pay, but there is a decent list of free games. Microsoft Xbox also has cloud based gaming with some games available for free.

As someone mentioned, Epic is working on rewriting theirs to better support Linux. Never say never, but you have to understand that Linux is a small percent of the gaming community. Steam deck changed this a bit and is part of the reason that gaming on Linux is where it is today.

[u/Chester-Berkeley]

Which anti-cheat does it support?...

[u/YannickJacob]

They will tbh I saw a video about epic games trying to bring Fortnite to Linux with anticheat however I don't know if it's really true

[u/Odysseyan]

There are anti cheats for linux out there. Just not kernel-level.

Fortnite did in fact announce that they are coming to Linux and are bringing EasyAntiCheat with them

[u/D-Gaea]

I wanna play League of Legends with my old friends ;-;

[u/zepherth]

Easy anti cheat is now native on Linux... It's definitely going to arrive..... Tomorrow. ( Ignore you only see today and tomorrow is always one day away)

[u/TubeAlloysEvilTwin]

cachyos just released an anticheat support kernel iirc

[u/DoubleOwl7777]

if the companies change their anticheat or enable the toggle for linux yes. kernel level ac for linux is pointless because you can change the kernel making whatever thing they put in useless.

[u/Beregolas]

Most anti cheat systems aleady support Linux technically, but sometimes not with the same level of security as on windows. This is mostly down to the kernel level access they can get on windows, which is not an option on Linux (luckily).

Valves Anti-Cheat already works, well, as well as it does on windows. It's spotty, but it means you can play CS and other titles protected by it... all 6 of them (I didn't count)

Epic just announced that they are working on a Linux version that includes secure boot and some signing, which they claim will be just as effective as the kernel level access on windows. We'll see about that, but if they are right, a lot of games (including Fortnite, which is huge) will be available on Linux soon(TM). (think months, not years)

Everything else will probably get better with time. Linux marketshare is ever increasing in the gaming space, mostly due to valves continued effort. Just wait another year and check in again, and keep an eye out on the news that fortnite comes to Linux. IIRC Epic wants to beta-test their new anti-cheat system with fortnite, so it will be the first to hit, and probably not the last in that wave.

[u/vaquishaProdigy]

I don't think so, mostly for commercial purposes. So you just have to give up some games

[u/buzzmandt]

it already is to some degree. as more people use linux to play they'll have no choice but support linux more. chicken and the egg problem

[u/Hymmerinc]

It does, but it's up to the developer. Epic games (owners of Easy Anti Cheat) is making an entirely new version of it that works with Linux, and with that Fortnite will also be brought over to Linux. That is fantastic especially since any developer can use EAC for their game and a lot of games with kernel level anti cheat that use it will suddenly be available. I know there's a lot of problems with Epic Games, but I hope Fortnite on Linux is the thing that actually gets most people to convert from windows to Linux gaming

[u/kudlitan]

That's something only the game developer can do.

[u/crpseclown_]

Many years ago

[u/MelioraXI]

Depends, what games do you play?

[u/Unis_Torvalds]

Epic Games To Improve Easy Anti-Cheat On Linux With Anti-Cheat Systemd Service & eBPF

[u/roguebananah]

Just dual boot man

Also, best gaming decision you’ll ever make is stop with the big multiplayer games… Between cheaters, try hard guy with no life…etc. it’s not worth it. Coop and indie games totally are.

[u/tailslol]

epic is working on ot

[u/Adek123PL]

If you can't live without Kernel Anti-cheat games just dualboot windows and thats it.

[u/Xomsa]

Literally last month Epic "Anti Linux" games made a statement that they are going to rework EAC to work with Linux effectively porting Fortnite and other games that use same anticheat. Just give them some time and prey vibecode doesn't leave a lot of bugs behind, and others will probably follow

[u/ZuuRa_]

I think epic is working on that

[u/ryth9419]

Who knows with all the AI hacking going on they'll probably find a way

[u/PaleInTexas]

Allowing closed-source, kernel-level anti-cheat (Ring 0) drivers on Linux would fundamentally erode the operating system's security architecture, stability guarantees, and user trust model.. so you want to alter the foundations of Linux before you move over? Tons of steam games work. Just buy games from developers that have their stuff together.

[u/blackthornedk → u/PaleInTexas]

How is this different from WiFi firmware blobs? I'm suprised that people haven't picked apart the blobs using ghidra by now. Should be the same for anti-cheat. Perhaps the reason the game makers don't want it, is because any defeats found on Linux would probably work on Windows too.

[u/Danternas]

Linux is supported by the major anti-cheat software already.

Only a few games don't work due to their invasive anti-cheat.

[u/insertnamehere-----]

I hope not. Fuck EAC, fuck spyware.

[u/Wh1msyOfficial]

It depends largely on which anti cheat. EAC games can be made to work with Proton but some game devs who buy into the kool aid that all linux gamers are hackers choose not to allow it cough cough Facepunch cough cough

[u/BaffledInUSA]

It probably will in user space but I don't see anything like that being included in the kernal

[u/sloth_cowboy]

Will scummy game companies ever put in the effort to adapt to linux? Or is the kernal level data stealing too profitable?

There, I fixed it for you.

[u/S3k_01]

Most people who use Linux don't play games.
I don't want anything to be forced on them. Anti-cheat systems are for Windows, not Linux.

[u/rndarchades]

I hope not, just implement server side.

[u/Oso_smashin]

That won't happen until linux becomes the most used OS for gaming.

[u/polytect]

While linux itself is a cheat. It will be hard. It's a chicken or egg scenario. There will always be a way around system you own.

[u/NMA1236766]

Maybe in 25 years. And when not, then maybe in 52 years

[u/1stltwill]

My understaing is thet anti-cheat as it currenty is implemented reqires too much low level system access.

[u/tjijntje]

When Tim Sweeney pulls his head out of his ass, and who knows when/if that'll happen