Creating an entirely new platform is no simple process, but Valve has never been one to shirk at such challenges. The Steam Deck is already proving to be an exciting new system, bringing a full-fledged PC experience to players' hands. However, the Steam Deck isn't a typical gaming PC. It doesn't run Windows, but rather Linux with a Valve-made compatibility layer named Proton. Ensuring PC games are fully compatible on Steam Deck is no simple matter. Valve is moving forward, though, with its latest effort focusing on streamlining approval processes for games with anti-cheat.Anti-cheat services for PC video games are complex by design. They're built to protect multiplayer systems in games from cheaters, while also protecting themselves from the cheaters at the same time. Since the Steam Deck isn't a Windows-based PC, even popular anti-cheat systems won't run by default. Valve has to work with its partners to ensure compatibility, which it has. Today, Valve announced that Steam Deck will now support Epic Games' Easy Anti-Cheat software, but that's just one step in Valve's effort to support anti-cheat on Steam Deck.
Explaining The Latest Steam Deck Developer Update
What today's announcement from Valve confirms is that games utilizing Easy Anti-Cheat will be able to go through a straightforward process to get reviewed and approved for Steam Deck support. Valve warns, however, that games that don't support either Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye, a previously confirmed anti-cheat service, will receive an Unsupported rating until they do.
Easy Anti-Cheat is one of, if not the most widespread anti-cheat service in the video game industry. Games that use the anti-cheat service include not only Epic's Fortnite, but nearly 150 other titles like Apex Legends, Battlefield 2042, Dead by Daylight, Fall Guys, Knockout City, New World, Rust, The Division 2, and Watch Dogs 2. Without Valve's effort to support Easy Anti-Cheat compatibility on Steam Deck, these games may not have been able to run on the handheld console. Worse, it could have led to false kicks or even bans.
While Easy Anti-Cheat support on Steam Deck is a major addition, not every game uses it. Valve has previously announced similar compatibility with BattlEye, which has been used in Rainbow Six Siege, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Escape from Tarkov, and Destiny 2, among others. The two combined make up a broad swathe of major multiplayer games' anti-cheat.
Obviously, supporting compatibility doesn't ensure compatibility. Each game running either Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye will still need to independently verify compatibility still, and there are plenty of other unique anti-cheat services that will each have to work with Valve to ensure compatibility.
What's key is that as many games as possible are fully compatible with Valve's Steam Deck. Not every game has anti-cheat, but many that do are very popular and exactly what Steam Deck buyers are going to want to play. There's still a lot of work to do, but Valve and Epic working together to ensure Easy Anti-Cheat is compatible with the Steam Deck is great news.
The Steam Deck is set to launch in February 2022.