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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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I'd imagine Linux distros could implement something similar?
I’m surprised I still have to state the obvious here for certain people. Just because Linux has a low user share, doesn’t mean it won’t have cheat vendors and cheaters using it because they can get away with it.
It only takes one person with cheats to potentially ruin hundreds (thousands etc) of online matches.
So both can be factually true: low users, high cheats. Developers won’t be saying this kind of thing repeatedly if it was a flat out lie and no Microsoft aren’t paying them to do so, pure FUD.Unlike Windows, where cheat software for competitive games is readily available, there are no commercial programs for Linux that allow cheating, let alone on a large scale. Claiming otherwise is misinformation and seriously damages your credibility with your readers!
If there are three cheaters on Linux, which isn't impossible, they are probably software developers who created programs for their own use, just as is perfectly possible on Windows.
The problem isn't and has never been Linux features.
Android and TeslaOS are Linux distros with a high focus on security and deeply trusted by games.
RHEL is deeply trusted by production software.
Most to all their features are integrated directly into the Linux kernel you use.
The problem is trust: the games don't trust it, because you could've modified the kernel to lie to them and the users don't trust it, because they've no easy way of checking this is truly what is happening.
So, either one of the parties has to gain trust or the source of trust for the vendors has to be moved outside the kernel, since I'm a programmer and not a social sciences student I propose the second.
Edit:
Places where this trust can be moved to: the development environment(homeomorphic encryption), external servers(game streaming) or hardware modules(TPM)
Last edited by LoudTechie on 15 Nov 2025 at 3:21 pm UTC
[I did find open source cheating software.](https://alternativeto.net/software/cheat-engine/?platform=linux)
[Here an opensource cheat for old versions of half-life.](https://github.com/UnkwUsr/hlhax) and I know that several Windows cracks are also Linux compatible.
@BlackBloodRum might have more insight in the commercial side though.
"Microsoft is moving towards limiting Windows kernel-level access for security reasons, a shift that will impact kernel anti-cheat systems over time. Instead of granting direct kernel access, Microsoft is developing its own security sensors in the kernel that user-mode applications, including anti-cheat software, can utilize for checks."
I think that the real reason to not enable it on linux, is that we are just not enough users that they care enough about us to find a solution. The good news is that the linux gamers are constantly increasing, so that at some moment they will find a solution. Probably in the form of a linux module that one would have to install. Let us just hope that this will not take another 10 years.
Last edited by Aron on 15 Nov 2025 at 3:40 pm UTC
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