EA Announces APEX Will No Longer Support Linux Systems and Steam Deck/Proton Compatibility Due to Anti-Cheat Measures

The popular battle royale game APEX Legends has long utilized Easy Anti-Cheat technology to combat cheats and game modifications. Typically, detected cheaters face account bans.

While primarily supporting Windows 10/11, gamers have been able to play on Linux systems through the Proton compatibility layer, including on handheld devices like the Steam Deck.

However, this accessibility has come to an end. EA and the game's developer, Respawn Entertainment, have completely dropped support for Linux systems, including the Proton layer.

In a community announcement, EA stated:

"In our ongoing efforts to combat cheating in APEX Legends, we've identified Linux as a pathway for significant vulnerabilities and cheating. Consequently, we've decided to block Linux system access to the game. Although this affects a minority of APEX players, we believe this decision will significantly reduce cheating in the game."

"We had to balance the number of legitimate Linux/Steam Deck players against the overall health of the APEX player community (referring to fair play). While Linux users are few, their presence (specifically cheaters among them) has disproportionately disrupted the player experience, leading to today's decision."

EA also mentioned the openness of the Linux system makes it particularly appealing to cheaters and cheat developers. Some cheat developers have even disguised Windows cheats as Linux cheats, making them harder for the security team to detect.

Following this decision, all Linux and Steam Deck users are now unable to play APEX unless Steam Deck users opt to install a Windows system on their handheld.