Another EA-owned game has taken steps to block Linux-based gaming PCs, and steam deckstarting with being able to access the game. The Apex Legends team released an update blaming Linux for the majority of “impactful bugs and cheats,” leading to the harsh action.
Steam Deck is still the best handheld gaming PC, but the recent loss of online functionality for multiple EA games from the platform cannot be ignored. The previous “Grand Theft Auto V” on Steam Deck suffered a similar fate, and “GTA Online” is no longer accessible on Valve’s handheld console.
in a Post to X (formerly Twitter), posted the following update: “We are announcing today that Apex Legends will no longer be accessible on Linux (and Steam Deck using Linux).”
The post goes on to note that the team has “identified the Linux operating system as a conduit for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats.” Given that many EA games have recently adopted EA Anti-Cheat (excluding Linux by default), it’s expected that Apex Legends may make the move at some point, as it was the last one released by EA without the feature Online games. This is not the case, but existing Apex anti-cheat features are being modified.
The article acknowledged that the percentage of Linux players was small, but then claimed that the impact was too great to ignore, leading to the eventual decision to ban the operating system entirely. It goes on to note that it cannot “distinguish between legitimate Steam Deck and malicious cheats claiming to be Steam Deck (via Linux)”. Therefore, it imposed this blanket ban.
Overall, the Steam Deck user base is quite small, and even though it’s hard to distinguish the exact number of players, the total is still large. Best estimates suggest that 1.5% of Steam users play games on the Deck each month, for a total of approximately 1.45 million players.
Meanwhile, looking at the list of Steam Deck’s most players over the past year, Apex Legends ranks 48th, down 24 spots from the previous year. It’s been a pretty solid performer on Valve handhelds, but will soon be dropped from the list entirely due to this latest development.
If you’re wondering which games are still playable on Valve portables, check out our list of the best Steam Deck games, which features games we’ve tested to give you peace of mind.