Fortnite on Linux – Epic wants to crack the anti-cheat block

TVS News AI, editorially supervised, presents Fortnite on Linux – Epic wants to crack the anti-cheat block.

Epic is bringing its game launcher to Linux – in a preview version available immediately. This opens the Epic Games Store officially to Linux users for the first time. However, Fortnite is still missing from the launcher.

Until now, the path to the open platform failed mainly due to the issue of cheating. Epic uses the anti-cheat service Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), which does support Linux in principle but was not active for Fortnite itself. Epic CEO Tim Sweeney made it clear in February 2022 why. He put it in these exact words at the time:

We don't have confidence that we'd be able to combat cheating at scale under a wide array of kernel configurations.

Epic is now announcing it wants to soften this stance – and is taking the first concrete step with the Linux launcher.

Why Fortnite had to wait so long for Linux

The fact that Fortnite plays on Windows, consoles, and Macs but ignored Linux was no oversight, but a deliberate studio decision. The reason: anti-cheat systems like EAC run in the kernel – deep in the operating system – and face a wide variety of kernel configurations on Linux, distribution to distribution, driver to driver.

Sweeney summed up the skepticism in 2022: in this environment, the company simply did not have the confidence to combat cheating at scale. The security of competitive mode took priority over platform openness for Epic – at least officially.

The new Epic Games Launcher opens the door

With the Epic Games Launcher for Linux, the company is now taking the first step. The launcher enters preview and opens up access to the Epic ecosystem for Linux players in the first place. According to Epic, Fortnite is not yet part of the preview – the game is to follow only once the anti-cheat work is solid.

The Verge and PC Gamer report in agreement that while EAC works on Linux in principle, Epic still wants to make adjustments to the anti-cheat for Fortnite before the game officially supports Linux. Which specific games run in the Linux launcher from day one cannot be derived from the information available so far.

What this means for you as a Linux player

Specifically, this means: for the first time, you're getting an official Epic client on your Linux system. Which games currently run there, how the feature set compares to the Windows version, and whether your distribution is fully supported – all of that is what the preview will reveal.

The exciting question is when exactly Fortnite will follow. Epic gives no date, only the direction: it wants to further develop Easy Anti-Cheat before Fortnite stands on a Linux launcher basis. Those who play on Linux can try out the new launcher immediately – with the realistic expectation that Fortnite won't yet appear in the game library. At least: the first step has been taken, the next one is to follow.