Apex Legends Now Compatible With Linux With Official Easy Anti Cheat Support

Valve just recently launched its console Steam Deck and its launch is immediately taking the Linux gaming universe by storm. The major issue that obstructed many games from being run on Linux up until now had to do with the Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) system. Forbes reported that Respawn Entertainment’s first-person shooter and battle-royale game Apex Legends is up and running on Linux Operating System (OS).

Now, many feel that it’s just a matter of time before it officially gets added to the Steam Deck’s list of Verified games. However, there has been no official announcement from Valve, Respawn Entertainment, or Electronic Arts (EA).

The report added that they noticed a new Apex Legends branch named “Steam Deck Testing” on SteamDB and that GamingOnLinux had confirmed the build on the public depot, meaning that the testing that was done behind the scenes was deemed successful and has been added to the live game.

Official Easy Anti Cheat (EAC) support

The Forbes article claimed that this update was not just a fluke and that it was very much official. It further said that the Linux-specific library file for Easy Anti-Cheat was present in the installed Apex Legends folder.

Apart from this, it was also evident that the Linux files necessary were added to the build as seen from the SteamDB recent update.

Linux gamers have frequently had their hopes up when the Steam Proton, the compatibility layer that allows Windows games to run optimally on Linux, was able to properly emulate Easy Anti-Cheat and allowed players to get into matches in different games. While players experienced this with Destiny 2 in the past, they were kicked out or banned for suspicious activity. These instances were one-time events since the developers had not officially enabled Linux OS support for EAC.

The only requirements for playing Apex Legends on Linux currently seem to be minimal. “Use Steam, have the ‘Enable Steam Play for all other titles’ box checked, and enable Proton Experimental in the dropdown box,” the article read.