EA rebrand and refresh their anti-cheat into EA Javelin Anticheat, still blocks Linux / Steam Deck

EA (Electronic Arts) have announced that EA anticheat is going through a rebrand and refresh, and will now be called EA Javelin Anticheat. Note: you can check out anti-cheat compatibility on our dedicated page.

There's no good news for Linux platforms like Steam Deck with SteamOS here, since they're still intentionally blocking Linux platforms with any game that will have EA Javelin Anticheat.

Currently the anti-cheat is in use across series including EA SPORTS FC, EA SPORTS Madden NFL, Battlefield, F1, EA SPORTS WRC and Plants vs. Zombies. While they also publish Apex Legends, that's still currently using Easy Anti-Cheat, but that was updated to block Linux platforms too.

EA say their anti-cheat "has prevented cheating attempts while maintaining an accuracy rate of over 99%". In a recent progress report they noted some highlights:

• EA Javelin Anticheat has blocked over 33 million cheat attempts across 2.2 billion PC gaming sessions since launch.
• Now active in 14 EA titles, including Battlefield, Madden, and EA SPORTS FC franchises.
• Built by experts in security, data, and game development to detect and stop cheating in all its forms.
• Fair play is up—cheater presence in Battlefield 2042 matches was cut in half after recent updates.

You can expect all new EA published multiplayer titles to use EA Javelin Anticheat and continue to be blocked on Linux / Steam Deck. At least until the market expands enough that EA can no longer just ignore it, but for that we need Valve to release SteamOS for more devices as they said they will, and for more hardware to begin shipping with SteamOS.