Ignoring one smaller market while gleefully supporting another, Epic Games have announced they're getting Fortnite along with Epic Online Services Anti-Cheat on Windows Arm.
Announced March 13th by Epic Games in a news post they said:
We are working with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to add Windows on Snapdragon support to Epic Online Services Anti-Cheat, also known as Easy Anti-Cheat, and make Fortnite available for Windows on Snapdragon devices later this year. This will help developers bring more games to more devices.
Worth noting that Epic's Easy Anti-Cheat does support Linux (including Steam Deck with SteamOS Linux), and there's many games that are supported (check out our dedicated anti-cheat section). However, EAC doesn't support the kernel-level side of it on Linux, which has resulted in a number of games actually removing support like Apex Legends.
Tim Sweeney of Epic Games previously said back in late 2023 that it wouldn't make sense to support Fortnite on Steam Deck until it has "tens of millions of users". I still have my doubts Epic will ever do it, even if the amount of Steam Deck users and SteamOS devices (with a public SteamOS Beta coming) continue to increase, since Epic firmly see Valve as a competitor with their Epic Games Store. Not that the Epic Store is actually doing well, as it continues coasting on revenue from Fortnite while seeing a cut in third-party game spending.
Still, money talks, and what Sweeney said does still make sense purely from a business standpoint — they want to see the big bucks come in from each platform they add. Especially when Epic have others to keep happy like Tencent, Disney, Sony and more who have invested in them. Windows overall is already big, and Windows on Arm is likely to get bigger quite quickly with Epic noting it's a "rapidly growing segment of the PC gaming market".
Who knows, maybe Epic and Sweeney will prove me wrong one day and actually get Fortnite on Linux platforms. For that, we need those millions of users, and our only hope clearly is Valve for that. So I do hope we get a Steam Deck 2 and eventually a proper living room box. Valve did only just reveal that 330 million hours were played on Steam Deck in 2024 up 64% from 2023 so there's plenty of hope there.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
enigmaxg2 a day ago
wytrabbit 17 hours ago
wytrabbit 17 hours ago
Valve is Paying 100+ Open-Source Developers to work on Linux Technologies
See except for the recent The Verge interview with Valve.
Griffais says the company is also directly paying more than 100 open-source developers to work on the Proton compatibility layer, the Mesa graphics driver, and Vulkan, among other tasks like Steam for Linux and Chromebooks.
This is how Linux gaming has been able to narrow the gap with Windows by investing millions of dollars a year in improvements.
https://www.theverge.com/23499215/valve-steam-deck-interview-late-2022
The addition of Proton is in fact so significant that before Valve releasing it, you had to run the entire Steam application with WINE if you wanted to play Windows games with any decent reliability. Times were wild.
ElamanOpiskelija 12 hours ago
CatKiller 10 hours ago
If that is true, why would you choose Epic over GOG, since GOG sell games that let you own it for life? They both have open source launchers, they both have popular storefronts, but Epic offers the same licensing as Steam where you don't actually own the game just a license to play it.GOG also only sells you a licence to play it - that's how software works. It's exactly the same if you buy a physical copy, for that matter.
CatKiller 10 hours ago
not defending epic on this one but some devs dont trust linux because cheaters can modify the kernel to break anticheat. the only real solution for that is verified boot with a signature whitelist. that would mean you can only play on popular distros with one of their official kernels but its better than nothingIt's not the only solution, just the one that they prefer.
wytrabbit 9 hours ago
GOG also only sells you a licence to play it - that's how software works. It's exactly the same if you buy a physical copy, for that matter.
GOG sells you an actual lifetime ownership license. The publisher cannot remove the game from your library once you buy it. https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/gog-reminds-everyone-why-they-should-buy-games-there-and-not-steam-or-epic-games
CatKiller 9 hours ago
GOG sells you an actual lifetime ownership license. The publisher cannot remove the game from your library once you buy it.No they do not. They neither have ownership of the games, nor can they sell that ownership to you. You are licensed to use the games, and they are authorised to sell that licence to you. They reserve the right to remove all the games from your library.
We give you and other GOG users the personal right (known legally as a 'license') to use GOG services and to download, access and/or stream (depending on the content) and use GOG content. This license is for your personal use. We can stop or suspend this license in some situations, which are explained later on.https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/212632089-GOG-User-Agreement?product=gog
Last edited by CatKiller on 15 Mar 2025 at 7:30 pm UTC
Kimyrielle 8 hours ago
the only real solution for that is verified boot with a signature whitelist. that would mean you can only play on popular distros with one of their official kernels but its better than nothing
No. The only working solution would be to design the games to be cheat-resilient in the first place, under the assumption that the client cannot be trusted at any time. This notion that a game developer would somehow be able to wrest control of a PC from its very owner is ridiculous. People who think that ever works don't really understand security.
chickenb00 4 hours ago
wytrabbit 1 hour ago
GOG sells you an actual lifetime ownership license. The publisher cannot remove the game from your library once you buy it.No they do not. They neither have ownership of the games, nor can they sell that ownership to you. You are licensed to use the games, and they are authorised to sell that licence to you. They reserve the right to remove all the games from your library.
We give you and other GOG users the personal right (known legally as a 'license') to use GOG services and to download, access and/or stream (depending on the content) and use GOG content. This license is for your personal use. We can stop or suspend this license in some situations, which are explained later on.https://support.gog.com/hc/en-us/articles/212632089-GOG-User-Agreement?product=gog
They say it right at the bottom of that paragraph and elaborate further down. It's for personal use, and if required, like if you're caught reselling your copy, they can of course deny further access. But a Publisher can't just revoke your license "just because" or if they're shutting down the game.
Also they're referring to your GOG library, and nothing short of sending law enforcement to confiscate your hardware can deny you access to any games you've already downloaded. Once they're on your computer, and if they're DRM-free, it's yours to keep.
Last edited by wytrabbit on 16 Mar 2025 at 3:27 am UTC
CatKiller 9 minutes ago
But a Publisher can't just revoke your license "just because" or if they're shutting down the game.
Yes, they can.
Also they're referring to your GOG library, and nothing short of sending law enforcement to confiscate your hardware can deny you access to any games you've already downloaded. Once they're on your computer, and if they're DRM-free, it's yours to keep.
I'm sure you'll agree that "they probably won't bother to come to your house" is an entirely different kettle of fish to the total ownership that you were claiming earlier. GOG is no different legally to Epic, Valve, Microsoft, Nintendo, nor anyone else that sells you a licence to use software.
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