Epic’s Linux anti-cheat wants TPM 2.0 and a bunch of settings, and you can check your PC in about five minutes

When Windows 11 hit the market, people using Windows 10 with older hardware ran into a brick wall. Windows 11 requires a CPU with TPM 2.0, and if your device doesn’t have it, you have to perform workarounds just to install it. The alternative was to move to Linux, where TPM 1.2 chipsets were, and still are, supported.

Unfortunately, it seems that even Linux isn’t completely free of TPM shenanigans. If you’re into competitive gaming, Epic Games’ Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) version 2 will require you to have a TPM 2.0 chip to run its games.

Epic Games’ Easy Anti-Cheat feature didn’t work well with Linux at all…

It’s been causing some real problems for Linux gamers

Before we move on to what EAC v2 offers, we need to take a look at the first version. EAC is a kernel-level anti-cheat software that Epic Games uses to ensure that people don’t cheat in its popular online games, such as fortnite. Deploying kernel-level anti-cheat software is a good idea when the kernel in question is locked and proprietary, such as Windows. It’s not great when used on an operating system where the kernel is open source and anyone can manipulate it, like Linux.

EAC’s relationship with Linux has been very difficult. Epic hasn’t completely ignored it; After all, we saw native support arrive in 2014, and Proton/Wine compatibility in 2021. But since those programs were running in user space and kernel drivers weren’t locked, Epic made them optional.

Not surprisingly, most developers take the simplest route to preventing cheaters using Linux: saying no to Linux altogether. When you’re trying to run a competitive online multiplayer game, ruining its reputation just because a few players on CachyOS can play is more trouble than it’s worth, which is why Epic kept fortnite outside linux. Well, the good news is that Epic Games has found a way to include Linux, but people with older hardware won’t be too fond of it.

…but the second version will let some Linux players in if they have the hardware

Better than nothing, I guess

On October 14, Epic Games Published a blog Details of its plans for Linux. It will launch what EAC calls Linux v2, and the goal is to bring “the level of protection much closer to that of Windows, in the very near term.” To do this, existing Linux features will be used to get the job done.

Although it won’t use a kernel module like Windows, it will need a laundry list of hardware. For starters, you should use a distro with a signed kernel. Your computer needs to have Secure Boot enabled, and the boot loader must have Measured Boot. You also need to enable IOMMU, Kernel Lockdown Integrity Mode, and the Linux Security Module BPF, and you should disable Kexec, a feature that lets you load a new kernel without rebooting.

However, one entry in the list will bring back bad Windows 11 memories:

TPM 2.0 is standard in modern consumer devices, and software support is built into the Linux kernel. We require that systems have TPM 2.0 support and that it be enabled in the BIOS.

Epic Games cites TPM 2.0 technologies such as Platform Configuration Registers (PCRs) as the reason for its request, claiming that they allow for “the production and verification of a tamper-resistant boot record.” This is supposed to allow EAC Linux v2 to see what code was run during boot without having to actually run it at boot. However, this means that TPM 1.2 users are left behind.

There is some good news, such as that EAC Linux v2 is a system service that only loads when you run a protected game and closes it when finished. But it’s not ideal for anyone using Linux due to its compatibility with older hardware. One could argue that someone with a PC that fails these tests probably isn’t playing competitive games anyway, but it was confirmed in the FAQ section of the blog post that the Steam Deck is still pretty high and dry for compatibility.

Running a quick scan of your Linux system is simple

You just need to run some commands

To see if your Linux PC fits the bill, run these quick commands. They’ll let you know if your computer meets at least five of the eight requirements:

• Secure boot: mokutil --sb-state I should say it is possible.
• TPM 2.0: cat /sys/class/tpm/tpm0/tpm_version_major Reporting “2” means you have TPM 2.0. The number “1” means you are using TPM 1.2.
• Kernel lock: cat /sys/kernel/security/lockdown It should appear (integrity)To be valid.
• BPF LSM: cat /sys/kernel/security/lsm Must include bpfTo prove compatibility.
• Keksik: cat /proc/sys/kernel/kexec_load_disabled Must be taken out 1.

Playing games on Linux just got easier for some

All things considered, I’m grateful that Epic Games is doing something to allow more Linux players to play online. I just wish it wasn’t necessary to include a shadow of the Windows 11 system requirements.