EA has just recently given out more information on their upcoming EA AntiCheat (EAAC), not to be confused with Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), because EA are apparently terribly at naming.
In their new Deep Dive, they went over various details about their new EAAC and how it will affect their games. The first big note is that it will be kernel-mode, which is usually something that doesn't play nicely (or at all) with Linux and so this could be some bad news for the Steam Deck too. Not only that, it's an anti-tamper tech too.
Take FIFA 22 for example, it's playable on Linux and has a "Playable" Steam Deck rating. However, FIFA 23 will be launching in October and guess what? It will have EA's new AntiCheat. So, this might mean it won't work at all.
It won't end up in every game from EA though, as they said in the post they will work with each studio to determine their needs. It also mentions for some titles they may only use "user-mode protections" (no kernel-level stuff) or just not have any at all.
A worrying trend though, with more and more anti-cheat going kernel-side which is almost always developed just for Windows. It's problematic for another reason though, like the recent issue with Genshin Impact where the anti-cheat driver was abused to disable anti-virus.
What do you think to this news?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Avehicle7887 Sep 13, 2022
To me EA died a longtime ago.
The latest game I own published by them is the first Dragon Age.
I like their old games better. So this doesn't affect me minimally.
The latest game I own published by them is the first Dragon Age.
I like their old games better. So this doesn't affect me minimally.
2 Likes, Who?
I was laughed at when I commented on YT that I would not let any game near my kernel. And now we have our first exploit.
Linux is a good filter. It makes Linux even more secure compared to Windows. As it just won't run.
Linux is a good filter. It makes Linux even more secure compared to Windows. As it just won't run.
4 Likes, Who?
Quoting: WorMzy
What a nice piece of software! I would love a libadwaita version of it 🤣
(I was thinking, I never saw a progress bar on it)
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: fagnerlnQuoting: WorMzy
What a nice piece of software! I would love a libadwaita version of it 🤣
(I was thinking, I never saw a progress bar on it)
And for on the go, a mobile app would be nice too!
1 Likes, Who?
With how popular these kernel level rootkits are getting with publishers, and even in single player games lately, this is another reason I feel we need to support and encourage native development where they can't rely on this crap rather than just assume Proton is good enough and will magic away any need for such. Trends like this will probably be the most damaging to gaming on Linux.
5 Likes, Who?
StalePopcorn Sep 14, 2022
Ugh! 
0 Likes
With all the downsides of having a kernel level root kit there is also the added problem of that this doesn't really solve anything, there will be next day / same day cheats sold that will completely bypass this "anti cheat". It's a problem that cannot be avoided by the current direction the industry is taking.
There have been talks before on threads like this that server side AI might be the better option and that is probably true, even though that would of course require quite hefty resources server side to be able to analyze every single match, on the other hand there is no reason why every single match/session have to be monitored at all times either.
Now I have zero experience in writing games, especially online networked games, but I started to think about this a bit when this news announcement. If I'm understanding the main problem is that the server have to give the client data on opponents locations and so forth since network latency is too long for the server to do this in real realtime 60/120fps.
So what if you simply made the game server send out fake data mingled with the real data, with no marking so that neither the game nor any cheat/mod would be able to distinguish which of the data is real and which one is fake, just that the server would remove or move the position of the fake data before the client would be able to render it. This way the server could notice if the client was reacting to the fake data which only a cheat/mod would do.
There have been talks before on threads like this that server side AI might be the better option and that is probably true, even though that would of course require quite hefty resources server side to be able to analyze every single match, on the other hand there is no reason why every single match/session have to be monitored at all times either.
Now I have zero experience in writing games, especially online networked games, but I started to think about this a bit when this news announcement. If I'm understanding the main problem is that the server have to give the client data on opponents locations and so forth since network latency is too long for the server to do this in real realtime 60/120fps.
So what if you simply made the game server send out fake data mingled with the real data, with no marking so that neither the game nor any cheat/mod would be able to distinguish which of the data is real and which one is fake, just that the server would remove or move the position of the fake data before the client would be able to render it. This way the server could notice if the client was reacting to the fake data which only a cheat/mod would do.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: PenglingThey learned that Sony's still rich.Quoting: KimyrielleParticularly not when said band-aid solutions behave just like malware....Perhaps it's just me, but in my books they meet the exact definition of it. It's like nobody learned from the music industry's Windows rootkit nonsense 20-odd years ago, or something.
2 Likes, Who?
Craggles086 Sep 14, 2022
Was good while it lasted EA, if you are moving into security at the kernel level then I guess you do not like the kernel options that Linux brings. One option Valve could have is making the Steam Deck run on a custom kernel that is Locked on the Deck. But it would not win any fans from the open source community and I do not see it happening.
Quote from EA,
“PC cheat developers have increasingly moved into the kernel, so we need to have kernel-mode protections to ensure fair play and tackle PC cheat developers on an even playing field,” explains Elise Murphy, senior director of game security and anti-cheat at EA. “As tech-inclined video gamers ourselves, it is important to us to make sure that any kernel anti-cheat included in our games acts with a strong focus on the privacy and security of our gamers that use a PC.”
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/13/23351900/ea-kernel-level-anti-cheat-system-fifa-23
Last edited by Craggles086 on 14 September 2022 at 3:44 am UTC
Quote from EA,
“PC cheat developers have increasingly moved into the kernel, so we need to have kernel-mode protections to ensure fair play and tackle PC cheat developers on an even playing field,” explains Elise Murphy, senior director of game security and anti-cheat at EA. “As tech-inclined video gamers ourselves, it is important to us to make sure that any kernel anti-cheat included in our games acts with a strong focus on the privacy and security of our gamers that use a PC.”
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/13/23351900/ea-kernel-level-anti-cheat-system-fifa-23
Last edited by Craggles086 on 14 September 2022 at 3:44 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
I sure hope they don't retroactively add this junk to Rolo to the Rescue, but considering EA's track record of being one of humanity's worst enemies, I'm sure they will.
1 Likes, Who?
I avoid EA like the plague. They'll never get a cent from me unless they drastically change their business practices and how they treat their employees.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: itscalledrealityBut in reality GOG retired their Linux Galaxy efforts recently.
You mean, they finally admitted that they wouldn't lift a finger for the most requested feature?
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Purple Library GuySome "they" did, and strive to continue its legacy, apparently with great success.Quoting: PenglingThey learned that Sony's still rich.Quoting: KimyrielleParticularly not when said band-aid solutions behave just like malware....Perhaps it's just me, but in my books they meet the exact definition of it. It's like nobody learned from the music industry's Windows rootkit nonsense 20-odd years ago, or something.
The other "they" still do what they did twenty years ago...
Quoting: WorMzyEDIT:Link intentionally broken
Last edited by Valck on 14 September 2022 at 5:02 am UTC
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: GuestSadly this is like a million other topics in society where the problem would be fixed real quick if people stopped buying/supporting crap. Anti-Cheat is also a decent chunk of why I won't buy online games anymore even if I ran Windows. It's an arms race of stupidity where the innocent are guilty and the guilty are guilty. Like a BDSM dungeon of idiots flogging their own genitals because master said so.I totally do not understand your statements, is like that you are saying "cheating online could be stopped if people do not buy crap games" (I suppose you are referring "crap" to games with anticheats). To me sounds like: "we can stop car accidents removing insurances"..or.. "stop criminals removing the police" Same for the next line... To me all this thread has been floated with no sense, hate and cheap slogan. I was just wondering, am I on reddit?
0 Likes
Even if i used windows i would do anything before i would even consider letting EA-Crapware run at Kernellevel...
Good thing they don't really have anything relevant to offer anymore that is not riddled with bullshit like microtransactions anyway...
Good thing they don't really have anything relevant to offer anymore that is not riddled with bullshit like microtransactions anyway...
1 Likes, Who?
Lot of people saying doesn't matter cause they don't play EA games and already hated EA anyway. I don't think I own any EA games either and not planning to get any. But in context, that is unfortunately somewhat beside the point. The point is, in putting some popular games off limits, could this blunt the growing wave of Steam Deck adoption?
I think probably not, on its own, as long as this doesn't either become a product they successfully sell for use in other games as well, and as long as it's not a harbinger of similar moves by other big game companies. But it's not a happy thing.
I think probably not, on its own, as long as this doesn't either become a product they successfully sell for use in other games as well, and as long as it's not a harbinger of similar moves by other big game companies. But it's not a happy thing.
3 Likes, Who?
Quoting: PirolisiErm, no. It's pretty clear that nPHYN1T3 was saying that intrusive, rootkit-like anticheat "solutions" to cheating would not be used if people did not buy games containing them--game publishers would give in and find some more customer-friendly solutions if all their customers collectively refused to purchase such games.Quoting: GuestSadly this is like a million other topics in society where the problem would be fixed real quick if people stopped buying/supporting crap. Anti-Cheat is also a decent chunk of why I won't buy online games anymore even if I ran Windows. It's an arms race of stupidity where the innocent are guilty and the guilty are guilty. Like a BDSM dungeon of idiots flogging their own genitals because master said so.I totally do not understand your statements, is like that you are saying "cheating online could be stopped if people do not buy crap games" (I suppose you are referring "crap" to games with anticheats).
Which is true enough, if largely irrelevant to the real world, since nobody who complains to this effect ever proposes a mechanism for changing human nature enough to make that happen.
3 Likes, Who?
BlackBloodRum Sep 14, 2022
So you won't be able to play the new FIFA game?
So? Just play the old one? Aside from the characters maybe adding 1 or 2 new players, my understanding is that in recent years every new FIFA game is basically the same thing re-released with a new player set.
Or even "The Sims 4". Look at the expansion packs, they're basically the same as what Sims 3 had
.
So it always appears to me that EA Games, Challenge Everything, split out a lot of "core content" into DLC so you have to keep paying again, and again, and again, and again. That and apparently it has a lot of bugs in their games?
Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 14 September 2022 at 7:40 am UTC
So? Just play the old one? Aside from the characters maybe adding 1 or 2 new players, my understanding is that in recent years every new FIFA game is basically the same thing re-released with a new player set.
Or even "The Sims 4". Look at the expansion packs, they're basically the same as what Sims 3 had
.So it always appears to me that EA Games, Challenge Everything, split out a lot of "core content" into DLC so you have to keep paying again, and again, and again, and again. That and apparently it has a lot of bugs in their games?
Last edited by BlackBloodRum on 14 September 2022 at 7:40 am UTC
2 Likes, Who?
TheRiddick Sep 14, 2022
I understand AntiCheat in very PVP games but don't see kernel level access for them to be reasonable solution. Basically their trying to automate the whole process which leaves gaping holes in peoples PC security.
Totally against single player games having anticheat.
The best solution for anticheat that I've seen is a active server+client side team that monitors exploits with basic AC software assisting.
The concept of a totally hands off approach for anticheat is leading us down a dark path where companies get full access to clients machines, recording keystrokes and every bit of meta data even when not playing any game.
Community needs to fight back and just not accept these tactics. I wish windows users were more aware of the dangers of giving corporations full access to their PC's (and lives) with no oversight... data leaks going to bring down so many peoples machines when these things go wrong (as we have seen already).
People need to stop shoulder shrugging their privacy rights away!
Last edited by TheRiddick on 14 September 2022 at 7:40 am UTC
Totally against single player games having anticheat.
The best solution for anticheat that I've seen is a active server+client side team that monitors exploits with basic AC software assisting.
The concept of a totally hands off approach for anticheat is leading us down a dark path where companies get full access to clients machines, recording keystrokes and every bit of meta data even when not playing any game.
Community needs to fight back and just not accept these tactics. I wish windows users were more aware of the dangers of giving corporations full access to their PC's (and lives) with no oversight... data leaks going to bring down so many peoples machines when these things go wrong (as we have seen already).
People need to stop shoulder shrugging their privacy rights away!
Last edited by TheRiddick on 14 September 2022 at 7:40 am UTC
5 Likes, Who?
God, please send us a good football game that is free from all this EA's crap!!
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