Anti-cheat measures in Battlefield 6, particularly the Secure Boot demand, may potentially jeopardize Steam Deck's compatibility.
Battlefield 6, the latest instalment in the popular first-person shooter series, is making waves in the gaming industry, not just for its exciting gameplay, but also for its use of a cutting-edge anti-cheat system. Developed by EA, the Javelin anti-cheat system is designed to combat cheating but has raised concerns for Linux gamers due to its compatibility issues.
Javelin, backed by a team of security and software engineers, as well as a multi-faceted data team, is EA's latest and allegedly most successful anti-cheat system. Its success in reducing cheating in Battlefield 2042, another EA title, has led to its adoption in Battlefield 6. However, this adoption has caused some issues for Linux gamers.
Battlefield 6 requires Secure Boot support, a feature that is not available on the Steam Deck or in Linux gaming setups due to technical restrictions. This requirement, along with TPM 2.0, is becoming more common in games with kernel-level anti-cheat systems. Valorant was one of the first games to incorporate a kernel-level anti-cheat system and enforce Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 requirements.
Other notable games that use kernel-level anti-cheat systems requiring Secure Boot include Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield Labs, which also employ the Javelin anti-cheat system. Similarly, games like Call of Duty and Fortnite use similar kernel-level anti-cheat systems, though specific Secure Boot requirements are less clear for those titles.
The use of kernel-level anti-cheat systems and Secure Boot requirements may become a trend in the gaming industry to improve gaming experiences and combat cheating. However, these techniques often cause compatibility issues with Linux environments and emulators like Proton because Linux lacks Secure Boot emulation support and typically cannot run such kernel-level anti-cheat drivers.
In contrast, some anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat do have Linux versions but typically avoid kernel-level enforcement and Secure Boot requirements, resulting in better compatibility with Linux emulation. Thus, games using kernel-level, Secure Boot-dependent anti-cheats similar to Javelin tend to have significant issues running on Linux emulators such as Proton.
Battlefield 6's anti-cheat system, Javelin, has a 99% accurate rate when banning cheaters. Despite this, there is no confirmation of Battlefield 6 working on the Steam Deck in the future.
Cheating and anti-cheats have historically been problematic on Linux due to less secure anti-cheat systems compared to Windows. The rise of kernel-level anti-cheat systems like Javelin may pose more problems for Linux gamers in the future due to these restrictive anti-cheat techniques.
Battlefield 6 is likely to be easy to run on Windows PCs, making it a viable option for Windows gamers. For Linux gamers, the ongoing development and adoption of anti-cheat systems like Javelin may require a rethinking of their gaming setup to ensure compatibility.
- The Javelin anti-cheat system, employed in Battlefield 6, is causing issues for Linux gamers due to its Secure Boot requirement, a feature not available on the Steam Deck or in Linux gaming setups.
- Games like Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield Labs, which also use the Javelin anti-cheat system, and others such as Call of Duty and Fortnite with similar kernel-level anti-cheat systems, often face compatibility problems with Linux emulators like Proton due to the lack of Secure Boot emulation support in Linux environments.
