Here we go once again, EA are about to completely break another game on Steam Deck and Desktop Linux and this time it's Battlefield 1. Originally released back in 2016, it still sees some pretty good player numbers on Steam hitting a concurrent player peak of 15,117 in the last 24 hours.
In an official news post, which was recently updated, it now states that Battlefield 1 is set to get the kernel-mode anti-cheat and anti-tamper solution EA anticheat in September. This follows on from Battlefield 2042, Battlefield V, EA SPORTS WRC and Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2 that all added it after release. It's also in their EA SPORTS FC series, with it originally first rolling out in FIFA 23 and has since expanded to include the others.
The big problem is, EA don't support Linux platforms at all with EA anticheat and so games using it won't work at all on Steam Deck or Desktop Linux.
EA also recently did a separate post on August 22nd talking about EA anticheat noting is has "prevented nearly five million attempts (and counting!) to cheat in EA anticheat-protected games" and they make it clear they plan to add EA anticheat into more titles across "FY25" (the 2025 financial year).
What this does is just highlight a problem with buying multiplayer games that aren't explicitly said to be supported on your platform. Proton is incredible, it does enable tens of thousands of games to run on Steam Deck and Desktop Linux, but in times like this EA can just write it off without a bother. How? Well, it's not EA selling it to you saying it's supported to run their Windows game it via Proton.
It's also worth noting that Valve updated the Battlefield 1 Steam Deck rating from Playable to Unsupported 5 days ago. Still, no refunds will come for those who are outside the normal Steam refund policies, even if your primary way to play is a Linux-based platform and that stings to just have a broken game.
At this point, it's probably only a matter of time until Apex Legends gets EA anticheat. That one will really be a big issue, since it's one of the most popular games on Steam.
It's an interesting contrast with BioWare's Dragon Age: The Veilguard that EA publish, which is Steam Deck Verified ahead of release with the developers repeatedly mentioning it. But hey, it's not a multiplayer game.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: MohandevirUnfortunately, you are right about that. It's probably the only advantage that Microsoft still got over Linux, in gaming.
It's not the only advantage. They've also got a subscription service, their own console line, and hundreds of game studios (including the - by far - largest ever gaming industry acquisition) to lock people into Windows-only stuff, as well as being the default on essentially every computer people might buy.
Quoting: MohandevirThey will probably cling to it as long as possible even if giving kernel access to a game, which is absolutely not an essential service, doesn't make sense.
That was such a terrible solution. The proper response to "Microsoft's AV gets special access to the kernel that other AVs don't" isn't "everyone gets to futz with the kernel," it's "Microsoft's AV doesn't get to futz with the kernel, either."
Mohandevir Aug 28
Quoting: CatKillerIt's not the only advantage. They've also got a subscription service, their own console line, and hundreds of game studios (including the - by far - largest ever gaming industry acquisition)
Yeah ok. We were talking about OS only, technologically speaking, but yeah, in a business sense, MS is much bigger than that. Still, MS games are on Steam and are quite nearly all playable on the Steam Deck/Linux Desktop, last time I checked? This is what we were talking about.
Edit:
Quoting: MohandevirUnfortunately, you are right about that. It's probably the only advantage that Microsoft still got over Linux, in gaming.
Bad wording from my part, I should have used "Windows" instead of "Microsoft", I admit. My bad.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 28 August 2024 at 1:30 pm UTC
Quoting: MohandevirYeah ok. We were talking about OS only, technologically speaking, but yeah, in a business sense, MS is much bigger than that. Still, MS games are on Steam and are quite nearly all playable on the Steam Deck, last time I checked? This is what we were talking about.
For now.
After they've got their iOS and Android stores to tie in with their DirectX box store and their Windows store, seeded with the biggest games in the industry, with an Epic-matching publisher cut, everyone who buys a computer already having the Microsoft store and a Microsoft account, and Microsoft having all the money? Who can say for sure? Valve feared that outcome, which is why they invested in Linux in the first place. If the battle between Microsoft and Valve over PC gaming does kick off there's no guarantee that Linux gamers will still have access to all the new games, anti-cheat or not.
Quoting: MohandevirBad wording from my part, I should have used "Windows" instead of "Microsoft", I admit. My bad.
On the happy side, Linux has advantages over Windows for gaming. Games can run better on Linux even when they aren't built, or optimised, or tested, for Linux, and it's much easier to put together a controller-friendly interface using the abstractions of the Linux ecosystem than it is to do the same in the integrated Windows ecosystem.
Last edited by CatKiller on 28 August 2024 at 1:45 pm UTC
Mohandevir Aug 28
Quoting: CatKillerAfter they've got their iOS and Android stores to tie in with their DirectX box store and their Windows store, seeded with the biggest games in the industry... Everyone who buys a computer already having the Microsoft store and a Microsoft account
Please! Stop! I'm going to throw up!
Last edited by Mohandevir on 28 August 2024 at 1:56 pm UTC
Mohandevir Aug 28
Quoting: CatKillerQuoting: MohandevirBad wording from my part, I should have used "Windows" instead of "Microsoft", I admit. My bad.
On the happy side, Linux has advantages over Windows for gaming. Games can run better on Linux even when they aren't built, or optimised, or tested, for Linux, and it's much easier to put together a controller-friendly interface using the abstractions of the Linux ecosystem than it is to do the same in the integrated Windows ecosystem.
...And there is another thing to take into account, I do not have statistics to back this, but many PC gamers are DIY builders. Windows doesn't come preinstalled on these PC. If Valve releases a desktop version of SteamOS, it might lure a couple of them to our side. It's already begun.
Last edited by Mohandevir on 28 August 2024 at 2:25 pm UTC
Quoting: MohandevirThere is another thing to take into account, though. I do not have statistics to back this, but many PC gamers are DIY builders. Windows doesn't come preinstalled on these PC. If Valve releases a desktop version of SteamOS, it might lure a couple of them to our side. It's already begun.
Yeah, I don't have statistics either, but the impression that I get is that fewer gamers DIY build than they used to: back in the day, building your own machine, tweaking settings and config files, and doing all sorts of fiddling to get the maximum out of it was part-and-parcel of PC gaming; my understanding is that that kind of knowledge and experimentation is much less prevalent amongst gamers these days, which might mean that DIY building is also less prevalent.
But, yeah, if people are in a position to choose their OS (because they're going to have to install something regardless) then some may well choose Linux - especially if they're chafing from things like the enforced Microsoft account.
Last edited by CountVlad on 28 August 2024 at 3:24 pm UTC
Quoting: CatKillerThat was such a terrible solution. The proper response to "Microsoft's AV gets special access to the kernel that other AVs don't" isn't "everyone gets to futz with the kernel," it's "Microsoft's AV doesn't get to futz with the kernel, either."
And you know Microsoft won't just give that up, so we're back to square one here. So frustrating.
Plintslîcho Aug 28
Quoting: MohandevirLet's just hope Microsoft end up locking them out of kernel access, just to make this a complete waste of time and money, for EA.
Yeah, it's funny how we have pretty safe operating systems by moderns standards for mobile devices, but people still install this kind (kernel-mode [...]) of software on their PC's.
Anyway, I'm personally pretty chill about it. Another game to uninstall, more space for others. I already own more games than I will ever be able to play in my life, so this news doesn't bother me much.
Last edited by Plintslîcho on 29 August 2024 at 5:51 pm UTC
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