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PayPalKernel-level anti-cheat feels like it's everywhere now, and will remain a thorn in Valve's side for the new Steam Machine powered by SteamOS Linux.
On Linux, there's no kernel-level mode available for anti-cheats like they would use on Windows. I know plenty of readers, and gamers across the net probably see it as a benefit due to privacy concerns, and that's fine - but it doesn't change what a lot of people want to play that can't.
This is something many bigger games simply don't want to pull away from including the likes of Call of Duty, Vanguard from Riot, EA Javelin for Battlefield and so on. While we do have some anti-cheat vendors that support Linux like Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye (and a few others), it's user-mode with no kernel-level and many developers really don't like that.
Valve's Steam Deck helped a fair bit, with a number of titles that do have something enabled for Linux systems at least, like with the popular ARC Raiders. What about the Steam Machine though? And even the Steam Frame since it also uses SteamOS, and can play standalone games?
Eurogamer spoke to Valve on this, with Valve believing it will help things:
"While [the] Steam Machine also requires Dev participation to enable anti-cheat, we think the incentives for enabling Anti- cheat on Machine to be higher than on Deck as we expect more people to play multiplayer games on it. So ultimately we hope that the launch of Machine will change the equation around anti-cheat support and increase its support."
The problem is, the Steam Machine needs to actually sell, and probably a lot more than the Steam Deck has managed so far to actually put a dent in things for the bigger publishers to even begin to take notice and certainly above the 3% Linux overall is at currently on Steam.
Not just the AAA lot, but games like Rust too. Alistair McFarlane from Facepunch Studios recently replied on Reddit to a request to have it enabled, and replied to note:
"There are no plans to support Proton or Linux. It’s a vector for cheat developers, and one that would be poorly maintained by both us and EAC due to the low user base. When we stopped support for Linux, we saw more cheat users exploiting Linux, than actual legitimate users.
When monitoring cheats for Rust, we keep a close eye on wider cheat communities across several major games. We look at what cheat developers are doing, and how other studios are responding.
From that experience, I’m very comfortable saying that if a game supports Proton or Linux, they’re not serious about anti-cheat. The only exception would be if they have a fully mature, dedicated in-house anti-cheat team, even then, I'm not seeing anyone handle Proton and Linux well.
Apex Legends also dropped Proton support in October 2024 for the same reasons as we did several years ago.
Could we limit Proton to Premium servers? yes, but I think it's total bullshit asking Proton users to buy the game and then $15 worth of DLC. I'd be pissed if I were forced to do that.
When we stopped supporting Linux, users made up less than .01% of the total player base, even if that number has doubled, or tripled, it's not worth it.
I know that every time I post something like this, some Proton and Linux users call us lazy or dismissive. The reality is that fighting cheaters on one front (Windows), is already a never-ending battle. Adding more fronts multiplies that challenge without adding meaningful benefit to the wider player base."
A similar story for Apex Legends where their team noted they saw a "meaningful reduction in the amount of cheating recently" once they blocked Linux. In that article we also referenced the same McFarlane from Facepunch, who made a similar comment years ago. Nothing there has changed it seems.
So even if the Steam Machine sells a bunch, this is a technical problem that needs solving. Who will be the ones to do it? Valve or game publishers / developers? It's going to be complicated.
We're currently tracking it on our own curated dedicated anti-cheat compatibility page. You can see just from that how some of the most popular games around simply won't work at all. You can also follow our anti-cheat article tag. We'll be sure to keep you up to date on the Linux / SteamOS anti-cheat situation as it develops.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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But there are 84 million PS5 consoles out there, 10 times as many decks, let alone XBOX and Switch devices. So, as a dev, I don't where the tipping point is, but I think it all adds up - Deck, Frame, Machine, they'll all contribute to applying pressure to support the idea of Linux as THE operating system to game on.
That's my optimistic hill that I'm willing to die on.
Valve is trying to change that by allowing a lot of players to use Linux, so there will be more legitimates players than cheaters the next time the games developers will try to support it. I hope that a lot of people will buy SteamOS-running machines thinking "oh, well, I don’t want / need to play with theses games on it anyway", and then later, a new game with anti-cheat will appear and the players that already use SteamOS / Linux + Steam will ask for it.
Or, and I think it will be the majority, some people will use the Steam Deck and Steam Machine while still having a Windows PC for some games. But with times, they’ll start to think "it would be great if I could play this game on my couch / while travelling", and then asking for these games to support Linux. And installing Windows on an handheld or the Steam Machine is not interesting, because buying and installing Windows, for it to be slower, isn’t worth it (pre-installed Windows fix the first part, but it’s still slower…).
Let’s hope for the best.
PS: can we use Steam Link to stream a anti-cheat enabled game from a Windows computer to a Linux one running Steam?
Last edited by Breizh on 13 Nov 2025 at 8:13 pm UTC
PS: can we use Steam Link to stream a anti-cheat enabled game from a Windows computer to a Linux one running Steam?That's how cheating works today. People simply use streaming and image recognition. The cheat may not run on the system on which the game is running. We are currently in a transition phase, but kernel-level AC systems in particular are likely to greatly accelerate the transition.
So the elephant in the room is that these kernel-level AC systems no longer work at all in the age of AI and real-time image recognition for everyone. Not only can you not play Valorant on Steam, you also can't play it on Nvidia Now. It's a classic retreat battle. And everyone knows how they end up.
Games like Battle Field don't need kernel level AC at all because they are not F2P. Cheaters will always be found sooner or later with AI because publishers have better training data. But this does not work in real time. So you need a paywall to prevent cheaters from constantly re-entering competitive matchmaking.
Valorant and Fortnite have a different business model. I fear one without a future.
Last edited by 1xok on 13 Nov 2025 at 8:30 pm UTC
PS: can we use Steam Link to stream a anti-cheat enabled game from a Windows computer to a Linux one running Steam?Yes.
Kimyrielle 3 hours ago
I suppose we can only wait and see. Steam Deck brought attention to Linux. The reactions were different, so far. Some (shooter) devs went "Ugh, let's just ban it!" and others went out of their way to support their games running on Deck and even desktop Linux. If the Steam Machine generates at least as many sales as the Deck (and why wouldn't it - handheld gaming is niche compared to living room gaming), we might see even the shooter devs changing their stance. There will be a point when saying no to Linux money no longer makes sense, and we're not that far away from it.
I foresee a backlash in the not-too-distant future where people see how much cheating is still going on, especially given how much developers have touted KLACs as the be-all-end-all of anti-cheat.
There are many games outside of those with anti-cheat both current, retro and modded that get my time and money..
there, i said the obvious comment
But even if that doesn't arrive soon, the Deck has already proven this isn't that much of a barrier to success, even if it is a barrier to world domination.
(and why wouldn't it - handheld gaming is niche compared to living room gaming)Not really, Nintendo DS is the second best selling console of all time. The Nintendo Switch has sold lots (all-time #3) as a hybrid. Unlike Nintendo's consoles, their handhelds were always a success.
And unlike the Steam Deck, the Steam Machine has not the same novelty factor. Anyone can already buy/build a small form factor PC.
It will piss off a lot of purists, but it can happen. It won't work on all Linuxes of course, but it can work on these devices.Yes, I also believe Valve will kill Linux gaming in the long run.
But i think there is a limit to what a lot of people will accept for the simple reason that if you take away whats good about linux you almost may aswell run windows. I think it's important that anything Valve adds to SteamOS fits in with the linux 'philosophy' as much as possible to maintain trust.
Persephone the Sheep 2 hours ago
If people are concerned about their privacy and security, then it's only a matter of time before they realize that giving a random company ring zero access to their system is a very bad idea.
My advise is always:
1. Create a subnet which cannot access your home network.
2. Build a dedicated PC and put it on this subnet. And never put your personal stuff on it.
2.a. or get a console like a ps5 and put that one in that subnet.
If Valve comes up with something which would allow for KLAC then I hope there is an opt-in switch. So default off and let the owner choose to enable it.
While I think the Steam Machine will definitely help, I still maintain that we are only ONE Crowdstrike situation away from cleansing all these clown rootkits off the face of the earth.
My advise is always:
1. Create a subnet which cannot access your home network.
2. Build a dedicated PC and put it on this subnet. And never put your personal stuff on it.
2.a. or get a console like a ps5 and put that one in that subnet.
most consumer ISP's in my country don't supply a router with that capability. Let alone having wifi on a separate subnet to the LAN. Having VLAN configuration is usually for custom routers. I mean it's good advice albeit could be a bit cumbersome if you want to do other things than just gaming on your PC such as home file-sharing, streaming to another PC etc..
Not to mention once you have a custom router you are now the sole system administrator for the home, which many people will probably forget to keep upto date with firmware, security updates.
And of course once you are on the internet in any capacity with that machine there is lots of tracking.
So my advice is to not install Kernal level anti-cheat. And it might be better to use encrypted partitions on drives in your PC which are mounted temporarily to access personal information and they are never mounted when Steam is running or any other 3rd party client software.
Last edited by Lofty on 13 Nov 2025 at 10:41 pm UTC
When BF6 came out this one streamer had access to a cheat ... only took hours.
The more money is involved the more cheating there is.
On the other hand - counter strike, a game that is also a trading platform runs on linux.
I'm not talking about MOBA/MMO games here... these kind of games are not my kind.
30 and more years ago I played Diablo 1+2, CS 1.6, Quake or UT with my friends and we simply started a "LAN-Server". We never used BattleNet or Public servers and none of us used cheats or something like that, because that simply ruins the challenge and you don't want to f**k up with your friends.
And why the hell should I want to play multiplayer games with people I don't know... me not.
I think that multiplayer game developers should go back to the roots and release a LAN-Server along with their games. This way they don't need to setup that on themselves in the cloud/onprem for thousands of people, pay al lot of money to keep it running, fight cheaters, monitor the load... and so on. A LAN-Server capable for 8-16 players should be enough! This would also help game preservation.
What Valve (or third-party) would need to do here is simply an easy way to make the LAN-Server reachable for my "Steam-Friends" (a pick list would be great) through the internet, that's all!
If you are experienced enough you can do that on yourself but you NEED the f**king LAN-Server.
It's really sad that game developers do not release a server binary with their games anymore.
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