This article goes more into how EAC for Linux is being altered. Basically EAC can run with ring 0 access on windows machines to prevent cheats, but on Linux it doesn’t have the same level of invasive access. This is better for user privacy, but also limits its ability to prevent cheating.
The upcoming EAC Linux v2 will fall into a middle ground between the two, and will require the kernel to be signed with a key Epic recognizes. The system will also have to have TPM 2.0 and secure boot enabled. I recommend reading the article for more details.
A good move from a bad actor. I wonder if they will release a native version or use proton (with another name, because of course).
This and the forced open sourcing of Photoshop is destroying windows moats.
This is a good thing. Yes, it’s not perfect. Yes, Fortnite and Epic are not great. But it’s so exhausting when people say “you can’t game on Linux” because games like Fortnite don’t work on Linux. The argument I always make in response is that it’s like saying you can’t game on a Gameboy because it doesn’t have Fortnite.
The main reason for a lot of people not switching to Linux is because they only play games like Fortnite (competitive multiplayer games with aggressive anti cheat) and those games don’t work on Linux. (Marvel Rivals being the big exception to the rule.) Fortnite supporting Linux in some form will bring more users to Linux. More users on Linux will mean more studios view it as profitable to support.
So, yes, this is a good thing. Yes, I fully admit it’s not perfect, but it’s a huge step I think most of us can admit we never saw happening.
i want epic games to fuck off forever we dont always get what we want
This article is a giant softball for EGS, and the author should ashamed of it.
Rock, Paper, Shotgun was willing to call them out
All you have to do is say fuck almost all the reasons i switched to linux and BAM youll be playing a shitty free2play royal rumble shooter in no time!
Please keep that on windows, exclusively. Forever.
Well well well, fortnite losing tons of players, epic firing thousands of devs … suddenly the people that are switching to linux getting more relevant huh timmy.
You can go fuck yourself tho.
so Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 need to be on
Nah, fuck off and stick to Windows.
Umm maybe it’s just me and my distro, but using secure boot won’t even let my Nvidia drivers run, soooo…
Although I’m not as familiar with the TPM, being knowing that Win11 needed it for some goddamn reason. I’ve never even noticed a setting for it or whether it’s on or off (never had a reason to care).
These are some reasons I stopped using Windows in the first place. I don’t need an evil corpo telling me what settings I must use so they can hide what there doing.
Exactly. When I first switched to Win10 (after it itself was just a free upgrade for me from 7, which I thought was odd for a corporate product), and saw the candy crush thing and (fuck I swear there was a second thing there, but I can’t remember) whatever that other thing was already sitting in the start menu, I knew on day 1 that that was gonna be my last version of Windows.
And then it got worse and worse. Luckily I’m that same time Linux was making huge strides with Wine and other compatibility tricks that by the time I got off the MS train I lost nothing as far as gaming potential, just maybe added a few minor snags to get everything nice.
EAC Linux v2 runs a systemd service that stays active just for the length of a protected game session, alongside eBPF programs written by Epic that watch for tampering and cheats.
For players, this means a stricter boot setup, so Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 need to be on, the kernel has to be signed with a key Epic recognizes, and several other boot and kernel settings come into play.
EAC checks all of this only when a protected game launches, and failing the check brings up an error, not a ban. Players can also keep a separate boot entry for protected games and run their own keys elsewhere.
So I guess MOK is not supported? That would make it impossible to play with Nvidia drivers because they need a MOK for signing.
Using eBPF is actually a pretty neat idea, but I guess MOK would be too easy of a bypass because you can sign your own kernel modules and just do whatever in kernel space.
It’s way better than a crappy kernel module but I wonder if hackers will actually abuse this for access over windows, especially when the Android version is also right there without any significant anticheat.
No thanks, i dont care for anti-cheat titles to begin with and there is Heroic in case i need to run a game from epic store.
Needs TPM, Secure Boot, and restricted Distros. Naw Dawg… I’m good.
Lot of loopholes to jump through for something not many people want
People with Steam decks, for example, would have access to EAC titles. I think it is worth it financially for Epic.
EAC already worked on Linux. Tim Swiney just wants to enshittify Linux because he’s a POS
Fortnite must be hemmoraging players for them to do this.
Fuck off and do the anticheat server side, stingy cunts.
Cheap bastards can’t even do the shit we were taught in college: always validate inputs server-side too!
No thanks. Piss off Timmy boy
Yeah Sweeny has been an outspoken hater of Linux his entire life. Now that its gaining marketshare, hes flip flopping. Fuck off Timmy boy
OG Unreal Tournament games had native Linux versions, even as late as 2016 when Epic was developing a (now cancelled) 4th UT title.
But then Fortnite happened and Epic switched from supporting Linux to antagonising it as it’s Valve’s platform thus enemy’s platform (his reaction, probably).
Stick it up your ass, Tim Sweeney (the bitch).
