Earlier today, Epic Games released a blog post stating they are working on a new implementation for Easy Anti-Cheat on Linux. Dubbed EAC v2, this will bring the existing solutions that has been native on Linux since 2014 up to par with the Windows version, which hopefully means more developers will adopt it (since the previous version wasn't as secure).
The first game to benefit from this new implementation, at least on Epic's side, is Fortnite (naturally). No release date yet, but they specify they will bring the game to the Epic Launcher once it hits a critical mass of distros that support it. The inability to play multiplayer games on Linux is one of the big contributing factors for why gamers aren't trying to switch from Windows, so hopefully this will help matters.
Quote From Epic Games Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) has supported native Linux game clients since 2014. In 2021, we added support for running Windows game builds on Linux via Wine/Proton. However, that support is opt-in for each game and many haven’t opted in because our Linux implementation couldn’t offer the same level of protection as our Windows implementation. This is why Fortnite isn’t available on Linux yet, but it’s coming.
Cheating in online games was once a small cottage industry, but it has become a billion-dollar market where cheat operators sell subscriptions for cheating tools that are updated frequently and require minimal technical skill to use. Without effective anti-cheat measures, these operators can drive enough players away from a game that it's no longer financially viable for the game developer to run.The long-term solution
The ideal solution for a cheat-free gaming environment is one where the operating system provides assurances to players that their data remains isolated from both anticheat and game companies while also ensuring that the gameplay cannot be tampered with. There have been many efforts over the years to build solutions like this including virtualization techniques to enable cheat free gaming, but to date they haven't gained traction. We hope they soon will, and we'll work with all willing companies in the industry to make this happen in the future. This includes continuing the Easy Anti-Cheat team's open line of communications with Valve to support Steam Hardware devices to the maximum extent technically possible.
The immediate solution - What Epic is doing right now
To close the gap for Linux, we are rebuilding our Linux anti-cheat implementation into EAC Linux v2. We will bring the level of protection much closer to par with Windows, in the very near-term, using existing Linux features including signed kernel, signed kernel modules, and secure boot with attestation. These requirements build on work that distribution maintainers already do, and the more distributions that meet these requirements by default, the fewer players will need to change their setup to play.
We are starting to reach out to leaders in the Linux community, and will continue to engage with more leaders in the coming weeks as we work towards bringing more awesome games to Linux. Later this year, we will co-host a panel discussion with Jef Spaleta (Fedora Project Leader) where we’ll talk through the path to enabling fair competitive gaming on Linux for players.
We are also planning to pilot EAC Linux v2 in Fortnite first, where we’ll test it in a live environment and refine it based on what we learn. Once we’ve validated EAC v2’s effectiveness, we’ll make it available to more game developers so they can bring their multiplayer games to Linux players too.Join the initiative
If you maintain a Linux distribution, we want to connect with you. If you haven’t been contacted by us already, reach out ASAP to [email protected]. We’ll answer any questions you have about getting your distribution aligned with our configuration requirements to get your signing keys added to our well-known list. The list is a core part of how EAC Linux v2 verifies systems, so we’ll maintain it to start. Our goal is to make the well-known key list open source, and we welcome PRs from the community to expand it.
When launching a game using EAC Linux v2 for the first time, players will be prompted to install an anti-cheat systemd service which runs only while a protected game is running. For games that already have the existing EAC Linux support activated, developers will be able to choose whether they want to continue using the older anti-cheat implementation for maximum compatibility or switch to EAC Linux v2 for better cheat protection.
On Windows, we rely heavily on a kernel driver to protect the games. This driver isn’t always on, it starts when a game is launched and stops when the player exits. For EAC Linux v2 we will not leverage an equivalent kernel module, and instead we’ll take full advantage of existing Linux platform security features like measured boot, the kernel lockdown LSM, and IOMMU support, plus our own eBPF logic to maintain integrity and detect cheaters. These security features are not available on every distro and may require configuration changes to activate.
Let’s go through the system requirements for EAC Linux v2 one by one. We expect to iterate on these requirements over time, and we appreciate feedback from developers and distribution maintainers to help refine them.FAQ
Does EAC Linux v2 use a kernel driver?
No. EAC Linux v2 does not install or load an anti-cheat kernel module. It uses security features already provided by the Linux kernel, together with an anti-cheat systemd service and eBPF programs.
Does EAC Linux v2 run in the background all the time?
No. It includes a systemd service, but the service only starts when a protected game starts and it stops when the game exits.
Do I have to keep my machine configured to meet these requirements all the time if I only play protected games sometimes?
No. EAC Linux v2 checks these requirements when you start an anti-cheat protected online game. You can maintain a separate boot entry with the required kernel and command line, and select that entry when you want to play a protected game.
What keys are considered well-known?
Here is a current list of keys that are considered well-known for use as Secure Boot signature database (db) keys and Machine Owner Keys (MOKs), which we plan to expand over time:
Canonical Ltd. Master Certificate Authority - used by Ubuntu and derived distros like Linux Mint
Fedora Secure Boot CA - used by Fedora and derived distros like Silverblue
Universal Blue - used by Bazzite, Bluefin, Aurora, and derived distros
Debian Secure Boot CA - used by Debian and derived distros
openSUSE Secure Boot CA - used by openSUSE and derived distros
SUSE Linux Enterprise Secure Boot CA
Rocky Linux Secure Boot Root CA
Microsoft UEFI CA - used to sign non-Microsoft components like the Linux bootloader shim project
AlmaLinux Secure Boot CA
Can I generate and enroll my own Secure Boot keys to use with other boot options?
Yes, EAC Linux v2’s well-known key requirement only applies to the keys used to verify the boot chain and kernel modules for the boot session where a protected game runs. This means you can easily toggle between an anti-cheat compatible boot path for playing protected games and one that you control yourself using your own keys for any other situation.
Note: If you boot via shim and want to use custom keys for other boot options, enroll them in the Secure Boot signature database (db) instead of enrolling them as Machine Owner Keys (MOKs). Because all enrolled MOKs are typically trusted for kernel module signature verification regardless of whether they were used in the boot chain or not, EAC Linux v2 requires that they are all well-known.
What about Steam Deck?
The Steam Deck does not support the required features for our EAC v2 solution, but we are actively talking with Valve and hope to support it in the future.
Will my account be banned for cheating if I accidentally start a protected game without meeting these requirements?
No, you will just see an error message.
Do you use server data to detect cheaters?
We do. It’s a great additional layer, but it’s not sufficient alone.
If someone makes a cheat that works on EAC Linux v2, does that mean it’s not functioning as intended?
No, anti-cheat always requires regular updates to remain effective. The goal of EAC Linux v2 is to create a strong foundation that updates will build upon, and also to raise the cost of developing and maintaining cheats so that a typical player rarely encounters a cheater.
Quote From Epic Games Fortnite is coming to Linux on the Launcher
To bring Fortnite to Linux, we are rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat (Opens in new tab) (EAC) and working with distro maintainers on security requirements. Once it’s working with a critical mass of distro maintainers, we’ll bring Fortnite to Linux via the Epic Games Launcher.
We’ll also make these improvements available to other developers so they can bring their games to Linux players. For more info on our work to expand EAC support across Linux, check out the tech blog (Opens in new tab) we published today.
What do you think about Epic's commitment to EAC v2? Do you think it will help move people to Linux, or will it not make a dent? Let us know in the comments below!
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