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.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Like others are saying, the only reason they won't do it is because they think it's helping their competition.. But I would actually consider stopping my boycott of the Epic store if they gave us proper Linux support.
StalePopcorn Dec 13, 2023
slaapliedje Dec 13, 2023
Quoting: slaapliedje(until the Unreal Tournament III debacle)This is way before my time with Linux-gaming, but I'm curious, what happened?
Quoting: BloodScourgeYou can't trust Sweeney, he's a weasel... Anything that hinders Valve is a good thing to him.Please, show some respects to weasels, that's a harsh comparison they do not deserve…
Get back to playing CS2, folks.
Quoting: kshade"If we only had a few more programmers" he said while drying his tears of sorrow with the stack of microtransaction dollars he made that same minute.
Don't forget that it's less than three months since he got rid of over 800 staff members.
Quoting: tfkHey Sweeney, are you making a profit yet?
if i had my game finished already i would say something like:
i will publish it on epic games store once it have tens of millions of users
Quoting: elmapulI'm afraid it does. Mind you, none of them are buying games there, they're all just playing Fortnite.Quoting: tfkHey Sweeney, are you making a profit yet?
if i had my game finished already i would say something like:
i will publish it on epic games store once it have tens of millions of users
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