As always, more nuance is inside, but some major bullet points:
- native Linux support for the launcher
- very openly vibe coded, if that’s a line in the sand for you
- Fortnite will be, but is not yet, updated with a new version of Easy Anti Cheat to be compatible with Linux. Yes, there are versions of EAC compatible with Linux today, but not up to Epic’s standards of cheat prevention, and whatever is up to their standards requires coordination with distro maintainers.
- their FAQ openly mentions the necessity of compatibility layers, but I don’t see any mention of native integration with them
After years and years of Tim Sweeney shitting on Linux, he actually came crawling back.
Too little too late though, you burned every bridge.
He’s not just crawling back, he’s actively trying to ruin Linux by introducing kernel-level spyware.
I’m definitely not an expert, but it looks like the only software that they’re looking to implement above and beyond what comes with your distro is that systemd module, so I think that anti-cheat hook is what we’ll have to look out for. It ought to be pretty obvious when it’s about to happen, since I think that will be the only time you install a game from a game launcher and get prompted for an admin password for installation.
Requiring a signed kernel+modules plus TPM and Secure Boot attestation is another problem, especially if EAC limits you to approved signing keys since self-signed keys would still allow you to modify the system how you want.
TPM alone is a non-starter. Loads of people with old PCs moved to Linux in recent years due to Windows 11 requiring a TPM 2.0 chip, and now is hardly the best time to expect people to upgrade their hardware.
That and the risk of gaming distributions including Epic’s crap by default like they do for Steam, though I doubt any distro worth its salt would do so.
But then they’re no worse off whether on Linux or not. I expect my next PC will have TPM2 enabled by default and will play nicely with everything I use, but I have no intention of using kernel level anti-cheat regardless. If you do want that, and there are people who do, then it’s the same thing on Windows except you can use an OS that isn’t utter garbage to daily drive.
That actually all looks pretty reasonable for what they’re trying to do. There’s very little novel there, they’re mostly leveraging existing security features
I’m not sure about that. Mandating a locked-down system with signed modules will be a tough sell for the Linux crowd depending on how strict they make it. Removing the ability to customize your kernel and restricting what drivers and services you can run goes against the entire open-source ethos.
Yeah that sucks for sure. Unfortunately doing all that does solve some real problems outside of videogames
Those problems would be solved by server side anti cheat. There’s no way to solve cheating with client side anti cheat. The only reason they do it is because it’s cheaper and they can get your data. Using AC as an excuse to lock down or limit systems is similar to using kids as an excuse to ask for everyone’s ID and ban VPNs.
Immutable distros are against the open-source ethos? That’s definitely a take.
Even with an immutable distro you’re able to obtain the source code and modify and recompile it to fit your needs. If EAC only accepts kernels signed by “trusted partners” that freedom goes away.
But you recompiling the kernel into whatever you need means it’s no longer the same immutable distro, it’s a fork of said distro. Whoever is actually using that immutable distro has their kernel restricted. You said restricting the kernel is not compatible with open source. If we talk about the average user an immutable distro means exactly that, it restricts the users access to the kernel. The average user doesn’t know nor should know how to make their own custom kernel.
You’re just fear mongering with what ifs. If you fart you may shit your pants. Does that mean you’d be afraid to fart for the rest of your life or would you think that’s stupid and you’re not going to worry about some baseless hypothetical? What would you tell the person who’s telling you to be afraid of farts?