STEAM DECK NEWS – Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts have tampered with the game, and it certainly affects those who play on Valve’s handheld PC!

Electronic Arts has announced on their website that Linux support for Apex Legends will be discontinued. Since Steam Deck’s operating system, SteamOS, is Linux-based, there will be no way to continue running the game on this platform, which is one of the most popular games on Gabe Newell’s machine! The publisher’s reasoning is that it maintains competitive integrity and helps combat cheaters. Apex Legends is not alone, as Grand Theft Auto V recently left the Steam Deck because the game, which had been at the top of the charts, was given an anti-cheat system that the device doesn’t yet support…

“In our efforts to combat cheating in Apex Legends, we’ve identified the Linux operating system as a pathway for a variety of powerful exploits and cheats. As a result, we’ve decided to block Linux OS access to the game. While this will affect a small number of Apex players, we believe that this decision will significantly reduce instances of cheating in our game,” the statement reads.

According to Electronic Arts, Linux is an attractive operating system for cheaters, but this statement was made after checking how many people play on Linux without cheating and how many cheat on Linux. While no concrete numbers, or at least a percentage, were given, it’s still a very risky move by the publisher and studio, as the Steam Deck is a pretty popular device… which will now no longer support Apex Legends because “there is currently no reliable way to distinguish a legitimate Steam Deck from a malicious cheat claiming to be a Steam Deck (via Linux)”.

This leaves the alternative of installing Windows. This can be done with Steam Ceiling, but not everyone may be willing (or able) to do it. It might even backfire on the popularity of the game…

Source: WCCFTech, Electronic Arts