Epic Games Unveils Enhanced Anti-Cheat for Linux With Stricter Security Demands
Epic Games is developing an upgraded version of Easy Anti-Cheat for Linux that aims to match Windows capabilities, though it requires Linux distributions to adopt several security features that the community has traditionally resisted.
The gaming industry's push to bring competitive titles to Linux is running into a familiar obstacle: security requirements that many in the open-source community view with skepticism. Epic Games is tackling this challenge by developing EAC Linux V2, an improved iteration of its Easy Anti-Cheat system designed to bring Linux support closer to feature parity with the Windows version.
According to Epic, the new version will leverage existing Linux infrastructure to simplify the process for distribution maintainers to implement the necessary protections out of the box. This approach could theoretically allow more Linux gamers to access competitive games without modifying their systems, though it comes with a significant caveat: mandatory adoption of security mechanisms that have historically faced resistance within the Linux community.
EAC Linux V2 mandates the following technical requirements:
- Signed Kernel and Kernel Modules
- TPM 2.0
- Secure Boot
- Measured Boot
- Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU)
- Kernel Lockdown Integrity Mode
- Kexec Disabled
- Linux Security Module BPF
Epic has indicated that these requirements are not final. The company plans to refine them over time through collaboration with game developers and distribution maintainers. A key distinction from the Windows implementation is that EAC Linux V2 will not require a dedicated kernel driver, though some distributions may need to adjust their configurations to achieve compatibility.