Fortnite on Linux / Steam Deck? Not until 'tens of millions of users'

Hoping at some point to play Fortnite on Linux / Steam Deck without the use of Cloud Gaming services? Well, it's probably quite some time away, if ever.

While Epic Games could put it on Linux, they're currently just choosing not to. The anti-cheat is supported, and has been for some time. It uses a mixture of Easy Anti-Cheat (which Epic themselves own) and BattlEye, both are actually supported on Linux. Their own game engine, Unreal Engine, does also support Linux too.

Recently The Verge did an interview with Epic's CEO Tim Sweeney, and this was mentioned:

Why is Fortnite still not playable on Steam Deck?

If we only had a few more programmers. It’s the Linux problem. I love the Steam Deck hardware. Valve has done an amazing job there; I wish they would get to tens of millions of users, at which point it would actually make sense to support it.

Worth noting back in September 2023, Epic Games let go over 800 people.

You may remember that back in 2022, Sweeney gave a pretty clear "no" to Fortnite support with Proton for Linux / Steam Deck, with Sweeney mentioning all the different Linux kernel combinations, especially with the size of Fortnite as a game it's a huge target for cheaters (and it's only gotten a lot bigger since then).

The other side though of course is the Epic Games Store, and how Epic sees Valve as a competitor. The issue claimed is the 30% cut that Valve take, but given how many resources Epic continue pouring into the Epic Games Store, through various exclusivity deals and free games, they're not going to turn around and put Fortnite onto Steam. Remember they actually pulled Rocket League and Fall Guys from Steam after acquiring them.

They wouldn't actually need to put it onto Steam for it to work on Linux / Steam Deck though, there's various ways to get the Epic Games Store on Linux and Fortnite already loads with Proton, it's just the anti-cheat blocking you actually playing it.

Really, the reality is simple and the quote above makes it clear. It's just a question of how much money Fortnite would make, and it would need to make a lot on Linux / Steam Deck. Once a platform is big enough, it won't be ignored. Money is the only priority, as seen when Epic decided to kill off Unreal Tournament.