There's a lot of blog posts and news articles being written right now centred around Microsoft's plans for updates to Windows 11, and potential kernel changes, with some thinking this means big things for Linux gaming.
Sorry to say, but I'm here to bring a more realistic take and to help keep all your feet on the ground.
This comes from a Microsoft blog post titled "Taking steps that drive resiliency and security for Windows customers", which is as a result of the recent CrowdStrike incident where an update took down millions of Windows PCs due to it running at the kernel-level inside Windows.
One that has been really doing the rounds lately, especially across Reddit and other social media is from Notebookcheck, with a rather sensational article title of "Microsoft paves the way for Linux gaming success with plan that would kill kernel-level anti-cheat".
Here's the thing: Microsoft don't actually say they will kill off kernel-level access, and if they tried that (again - they tried with Vista before), they will no doubt again face some pretty serious push-back from both cybersecurity vendors and regulators across various countries. Something that would likely be more hassle than its actually worth. What Microsoft do actually talk about, is providing additional options that are outside of kernel mode - a whole new platform to "meet the needs of security vendors".
This new security platform, if vendors chose to actually go ahead and use it, could mean the opposite for Linux gaming, and cause a whole bunch of new headaches when it comes to supporting it regardless of it being via Native Linux games, or Windows games through Wine and Proton. So if anything, I would say that rather than paving the way for Linux gaming to get better, it's just going to be another hurdle. As annoying as that is.
Just because some things may move out of the kernel-level, also doesn't mean things will suddenly work on Linux (or get any easier to support via Wine / Proton). There will be various ways for developers to detect Linux, and continue to block it.
Just look at Destiny 2 as the easy and simple example here, they very clearly check for and completely block Linux platforms from playing Destiny 2 via Proton with no way around it. From the official Bungie website:
Steam Deck and Destiny 2
Destiny 2 is not supported for play on the Steam Deck or on any system utilizing Steam Play's Proton unless Windows is installed and running. Players who attempt to launch Destiny 2 on the Steam Deck through SteamOS or Proton will be unable to enter the game and will be returned to their game library after a short time.
Players who are not accessing Destiny 2 through Windows and attempt to bypass the SteamOS/Proton incompatibility will be met with a game ban.
You could expect to see more of that.
Then there's another easy example, Rust from Facepunch. Garry Newman has been pretty outspoken in the past about it, and how when they last had Rust supported on Linux, another Facepunch developer noted it caused more cheating issues for them to have to deal with.
How about Fortnite? That's pretty much a "lol no" event too, it's not like things being client-side will suddenly mean Fortnite would work on Linux, it would absolutely continue to be blocked. At least, not until Linux / Steam Deck has tens of millions of users according to Epic's Tim Sweeney.
Roblox is an additional easy example here to really make the point. Their latest anti-cheat is not kernel level, and completely blocks Linux. Something doesn't need to be in the kernel to block Linux-based systems. This caused projects like Sober to appear to run the Android version.
There's really no easy answer to the anti-cheat problem for Linux / Steam Deck gaming right now, aside from perhaps developers having things done server-side where the platform you're playing on is less of an issue, or cloud gaming where the game isn't even on your machine. That's not to say it will be a problem that will never be solved, just don't expect changes to the way Windows handles things like security, anti-tamper, anti-cheat and so on to be in any way beneficial for Linux.
As usual, over to you in the comments: what are you thinking?
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Mohandevir Sep 15
This said, It feels like the best solution that would give control to the devs, for Linux anti-cheat, is probably through a native linux client. That's probably why they are waiting for tens of millions of Linux users? Less than that, it would be too much assle for the number of potential players? Am I wrong to think so?
Last edited by Mohandevir on 15 September 2024 at 7:08 pm UTC
Which needs:
- Enough players
- An actual solution to the anti-cheat situation
I believe that 10% marketshare is definitely possible and would probably be enough for at least a consideration. But that's not gonna be enough without some solution to the second point.
I don't know how this "solution" is gonna look like. Maybe something like the TPM chip could be used to sign and lock down the kernel for SteamOS and other major distributions? Something that could be toggled at boot time?
Would suck for people using modified kernels or unsupported distros but I think it would be preferable to at least have an option to run those game in a limited environment over needing to dual boot with Windows.
Last edited by Pyrate on 15 September 2024 at 7:57 pm UTC
Quoting: basedThis article is why GoL pwnz
Yeah, for sure. Kudos to Liam for bein' the voice of reason once again.
dziadulewicz Sep 15
Quotedon't suddenly mean big things for Linux gaming
That's the thing in any major possible change. This appears like a directional and approach change for sure.
Of course it is hard to believe right at this moment. Something is up; kernel level anti cheat is not the long lasting way. We'll see
Quoting: _MarsAt the end of the day, if developers want to block unsupported platforms, they have plenty of methods to do so. And there is no way to prevent this. The only option is to convince companies to consider Linux as a supported platform.Do not give in to the demands of moron corporate overlords like Tim Sweeney. Do not view the world like they do: everything is dark no matter how much money you have.
Which needs:
Enough players
An actual solution to the anti-cheat situation
If the game devs care about their game or are passionate about their craft, they'd be more interested than the player to make their games run on as many platforms as possible.
We have literally game pirates talking about installing Linux and testing their "crack" with Wine to make sure it runs in there as well xD! Literally.
How is this possible that a "cyber criminal" (depending on which region you live) cares more about the player experience than the actual game developers? It absolutely is not the case, it is because morons like Sweeney are in control.
Even when such a solution would be released for Linux, would you allow it?
For me, it's not really an issue as I don't play multi player games. But I'm curious though.
Quoting: Purple Library GuyHey! We Canadians have enough problems, thank you very much!
Lol, that's fair.
RandomizedKirbyTree47 Sep 15
QuoteDestiny 2 is not supported for play on the Steam Deck or on any system utilizing Steam Play's Proton...Players who are not accessing Destiny 2 through Windows and attempt to bypass the SteamOS/Proton incompatibility will be met with a game ban.
As I don't play online multiplayer games, I'm going to ignore the main point of the article and rant about one of my pet peeves:
That is not what the words "not supported" mean!
Let's look at a real example of a software developer not supporting something. Mozilla does not support building or running Firefox on FreeBSD. Mozilla employees do not test Firefox on FreeBSD. Mozilla typically does not make any changes to their code with FreeBSD in mind. If Firefox works on FreeBSD, cool: Mozilla doesn't care. If Firefox doesn't work on FreeBSD, too bad: Mozilla still doesn't care, because it's unsupported by Mozilla.
(On the other hand, the FreeBSD developers do support running Firefox on FreeBSD, and if it doesn't work, that's a bug you can report to FreeBSD.)
If Sony truly didn't support Destiny 2 on Linux, they would not test Destiny 2 on Linux, and they would not write any code that is specifically intended to apply to running it on Linux. It might be possible to get the game running under Proton, or it might not, but Sony wouldn't care if they were truly "not supporting" Linux.
But that's not what's happening. Sony isn't merely ignoring Linux. They are paying their programmers to do more work to write code specifically to break Destiny 2 on Linux. They are paying people to actively test Destiny 2 on Linux to make sure it is broken. Sony is supporting Linux, with the explicit goal of making it not work.
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