Grand Theft Auto V It was one of the ten most played games on Valve’s Steam Deck handheld console last week. It has been in the top twenty for at least two years. But as of today, Valve lists the game as “unsupported” – because developer Rockstar mysteriously broke its online mode’s compatibility with Valve’s handheld console.
As you can see in the image above, this is the latest battle surrounding Linux anti-cheat: Like fort night and RobloxRockstar has decided to no longer support Steam Deck and its new anti-cheat software GTA Online— By all accounts, this game really needs to deal with cheaters. (Beyond the Steam Deck, better anti-cheat might be a good move.)
But unlike Fortress Heroes and Roblox, Rockstar is taking the multiplayer portion of the game out of people’s hands, rather than not bringing it to the Steam Deck in the first place. It also blamed the problem on Valve, claiming that “Steam Deck does not support GTA Online’s BattlEye” and referring all further questions to Valve.
And it doesn’t answer a key question: Why doesn’t it turn on the so-called switch that lets BattlEye’s anti-cheat feature run on Steam Deck?
Because it does work, last time I checked. Valve enabled BattlEye on Steam Deck a few years ago, and many games with anti-cheat software have successfully made the jump. Valve says getting a BattlEye game running on the Steam Deck is actually as easy as sending an email. But Rockstar didn’t respond when I asked about it. I also reached out to Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais to see if the anti-cheat scene has changed in any way since then, but have yet to receive a response.
I’ve heard it suggested many times that letting Linux users try anti-cheat invites them to find ways to dismantle it, but Epic’s Tim Sweeney said last year that it could also be about economics.
On the bright side, grand theft auto 5Single player gaming should still be possible. “You will be able to play GTA 5 Story Mode, but not GTA Online,” reads Rockstar’s FAQ.
