Epic Games Overhauls Anti-Cheat System, Fortnite Finally Coming to Linux

Fortnite and many other multiplayer games may soon be released for Linux in the near future. Thanks to devices like Steam Deck and Steam Machine, as well as Windows' ongoing problems, gaming on Linux has grown over the past few y

Fortnite and many other multiplayer games may be released for the Linux operating system in the near future.

Thanks to devices like the Steam Deck and Steam Machine, as well as the ongoing problems of Windows, gaming on Linux has become much more attractive over the past few years. However, the biggest obstacle remains multiplayer games and their anti-cheat systems. Now Epic Games plans to bring one of the biggest games in this field to the Linux operating system soon.

The company has announced that it is working on a Linux version of Fortnite. This version is supposed to be used as a test bed for the redesign of the EAC (Easy Anti-Cheat) anti-cheat system; A solution that Epic offers to help developers of multiplayer games built with the Unreal Engine to prevent players from cheating. This system was also recently used in Gears of War: E-Day.

Epic says the current version of EAC already supports Linux, but most developers, including the company itself, chose not to use this feature. The reason for this decision is that the current version of EAC in Linux cannot protect games as well as its Windows version; For this reason, many developers have chosen to drop Linux support altogether.

Rebuilding EAC natively can allow Epic to bring this software to the level of the Windows version in terms of security and performance. This new version is not going to depend on translation layers like Proton; Layers that allow many Windows games to run on Linux. If this project is successful, Epic can more confidently release the native version of Fortnite for Linux. The company explained in a blog post that once this milestone is reached, it will make the new technology available to other developers so they can bring their multiplayer games to Linux users. Epic Games announced in this regard:

We want to test run EAC Linux v2 in Fortnite first. At this stage, we will test the system in the real game environment and based on the results we get, we will apply the necessary changes and improvements. After confirming the effectiveness of EAC v2, we will make this technology available to more developers to bring their multiplayer games to Linux users.

Epic Games has not yet announced a specific timeline for the release of Fortnite on Linux. However, the company has confirmed that its beta program will be available to users through a new version of the Epic Games Store launcher. The introduction of this launcher is accompanied by another controversial decision by Epic. Earlier this week, the company emphasized its commitment to developing software using artificial intelligence and introduced a new version of the launcher called Vibe Coded; The term here refers to the production of software with the help of artificial intelligence. This company has justified this approach by pointing to the difficulty of programming.

Of course, the new version of the launcher is still in the preview stage and does not offer many features in the original version. However, Epic says it has seen improvements in performance so far; However, this increase in speed was only a few seconds in some cases.

Nevertheless, the use of such software may not be acceptable for all users; Especially people who don't want to hand over their credit card information to a program that is developing and changing without extensive human oversight or even direct human intervention. In addition, the accelerated release of the new version has already led to the emergence of some strange bugs; Problems that would likely have been identified if more thorough testing had been done prior to public release.

Meanwhile, reports suggest that Epic Games has delayed the release of a shooter centered around the collaboration between the Star Wars and Marvel universes earlier this week. It is said that this decision was taken in a situation where the company is moving towards a production model based on artificial intelligence; An approach that aims to eliminate manual coding.