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Ever since Valve released the Steam Deck alongside Proton, the magical compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run, largely seamlessly, on its Linux-based handheld one of the few thorns in its gaming side has been anti-cheat software.
Most popular multiplayer games need a form of anti-cheat software because people can’t be trusted to play them the way they were intended and intentionally spoil the game for everybody else for their own gains, be it better aiming or faster character progression.
Anti-Cheat software looks for items injected into the code that shouldn’t be there, and if it spots them, boots players out of the game. Unfortunately, not all anti-tamper software plays nicely with Proton, which is code that very much should not be there in the first place. That’s a simplified explanation, but it is the reason you can’t play some of the biggest games ever on Steam Deck such as Fortnite or more recent Call of Duties. It’s annoying but Deck owners have come to terms with it as there are 1000s of games that play great on the go.
However, Electronic Arts is reducing the library by starting to consistently add its EA Anti-cheat anti-tamper software into its back catalog, rendering games that were previously fine on the Deck as totally unplayable.
EA Anti-cheat will not work under Linux under any circumstances making games that utilize it unplayable, not just on the Steam Deck, but any Linux-based architecture.
Having already rendered Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield V useless to Deck owners, now it is the turn next month of Battlefield 1 – a game that came out in 2016, long before the Steam Deck was even announced.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to create a safe and fair experience for all players, we’re transitioning Battlefield™ 2042 over to EA anti-cheat in October 2023, Battlefield™ V in April 2024, and Battlefield™ 1 in September 2024,” said a blog post on EA’s site.
Previously Battlefield 1’s Steam Deck Rating was ranked by Valve as Playable, but this has now been changed to Unsupported, so if you only played it on a Steam Deck, you will soon be out of luck with no option to refund.
