Apex Legends Ends Support on Steam Deck and Linux Due to Cheating Concerns
EA has decided to discontinue Apex Legends support on Steam Deck and Linux, citing escalating issues with cheaters. The change was announced in a post by an EA community manager, who explained that the open nature of Linux systems makes it challenging to separate legitimate Steam Deck users from malicious cheaters operating through Linux.
Apex Legends has been available on Steam Deck since March 2022, bringing a portable battle royale experience to many players. However, maintaining fair play on Linux has proven to be a mounting challenge for EA, especially given that some cheats developed for Windows can be emulated on Linux, making detection even harder. According to EA, the increasing difficulty of identifying cheats on Linux has impacted the game’s overall integrity, prompting the company to prioritize the experience of the larger player base over the relatively small number of Linux and Steam Deck users.
In a similar vein, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney expressed no plans to bring Fortnite to Steam Deck, also due to concerns about anti-cheat reliability on Linux. This trend highlights a growing tension between supporting open platforms and managing security for competitive online games.
EA’s post encourages Steam Deck users who wish to keep playing Apex to install Windows as an alternative, allowing them to bypass Linux-specific anti-cheat issues. Additionally, EA shared its commitment to “future-proofing” Apex Legends, aiming for the game to remain viable for a decade or longer.
