Anyone who has played GTA Online knows that the game struggles with cheaters, and Rockstar Games is taking steps to tackle this issue by introducing BattleEye anti-cheat through a recent update for GTA V. While this news may be welcomed by many dedicated players, it has sparked controversy within the Steam Deck and Linux gaming communities. The implementation of kernel-level anti-cheat has rendered GTA Online incompatible with both Linux and the Steam Deck.
Rockstar's Stance on Compatibility Issues
Interestingly, Rockstar's support page regarding BattleEye cites the lack of Steam Deck support as a problem originating from Steam's end:
"Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online. You will be able to play GTAV Story Mode but unable to play GTA Online."
It seems odd for Rockstar to place the blame on Steam, especially since several titles successfully support BattleEye when played on Linux through Proton. A brief look at the Steam Deck Verified games list, Are We Anti-Cheat Yet?, and ProtonDB shows that games like DayZ, ARK: Survival Evolved, ArmA 3, Unturned, Planetside 3, Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint, Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord, and other BattleEye-enabled titles run smoothly on the Steam Deck and various Linux systems.
Offline Play Still Available
It's worth mentioning that GTA V can still be played in offline or story mode on Linux and the Steam Deck by using the -nobattleye launch option. This allows players to start the game without BattleEye active in the background.
This indicates that Rockstar Games may have intentionally chosen to overlook support for Linux and the Steam Deck. They might be trying to avoid a flood of support requests from Steam Deck users or Linux gamers regarding potential issues from future updates. The timing of the anti-cheat addition to GTA V and GTA Online raises eyebrows, especially since the game debuted nine years ago. Some speculate that this could serve as a test for GTA VI, which is expected to launch next year. While a PC version for GTA VI may not arrive until a year or two after its console release in 2025, Rockstar may be attempting to manage expectations for the new installment.
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