Fortnite anti-cheat for Linux will require Secure Boot and TPM 2.0

On Oct. 14, a Linux player can open the Epic Games Launcher in preview, the first time Epic has offered it on Linux ^[4][6]. Fortnite is not in it yet ^[8]. Rick Deist, Epic's engineering director, told The Verge in a briefing that the company has no timeline for the Linux version ^[1].

Easy Anti-Cheat already exists on Linux. It has supported Linux since 2014 and Windows games running through Wine/Proton since 2021, but developers must switch Linux support on themselves, and VideoCardz reports that many have avoided it because the protection is weaker ^[9]. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney gave the reason for Fortnite in February 2022. He said: "We don't have confidence that we'd be able to combat cheating at scale under a wide array of kernel configurations." ^[10]

In our view, the new requirements are Epic's answer to that sentence. According to VideoCardz, EAC Linux v2 asks for signed Linux kernels and modules, TPM 2.0, Secure Boot, measured boot, IOMMU support and kernel lockdown ^[11]. Each item cuts down the number of kernel configurations Epic has to defend.

"Critical mass" is a roadmap phrase. Epic's blog post says: "Once it's working with a critical mass of distro maintainers, we'll bring Fortnite to Linux via the Epic Games Launcher." ^[12] Epic did not put a number on it.

The Steam Deck shows how literal those conditions are. Epic said the device "does not support the required features for our EAC v2 solution, but we are actively talking with Valve and hope to support it in the future." ^[2] VideoCardz reports there is no confirmed timeline for that ^[3].

We'd sort your own situation on two questions. First, is your distro's kernel signed by a key on Epic's list ^[5]? Second, does your hardware have TPM 2.0 with Secure Boot enabled ^[11]? Yes to both matches the plan Epic described. Yes on the distro and no on the hardware is a firmware or purchasing problem, and you can find it out before any date is announced. A custom kernel or unsigned module on capable hardware depends on Epic and the maintainers, and VideoCardz says such setups could be a problem ^[7]. No to both is outside what Epic has described.

A studio can run the same grid over its own Linux players before deciding whether to adopt EAC Linux v2 once the Fortnite pilot is done ^[13]. We'd run the check now because it costs little.