Steam Machine’s upcoming release means more people will be playing games on Linux, specifically SteamOS. The idea of ditching Windows for gaming is becoming more attractive, as the Steam Machine is first-party desktop-level hardware that’s optimized for Linux-based SteamOS. The biggest hurdle for Linux gamers right now is a lack of support for many anti-cheats – particular those that require kernel-level access. But with the release of the Machine, Valve hopes game devs take notice.
Steam Machine seems to getting the most attention out of Valve’s latest hardware launches. The Steam creators announced the new console-like mini PC alongside the Steam Frame VR headset and new Steam Controller. Even the Frame runs on SteamOS, which means Valve now has a trio of first-party hardware on Linux (including the Steam Deck handheld).
Right. Nice to find someone here who actually understands some of the problems that make kernel level anticheat important. In modern FPS, server authoiritative everything is just not feasible. No gamer is going to accept the latency that would cause. Or when you look and suddenly you momentarily desynced and now your camera jerks back because the sever decided you tried to look around too quickly? People are so willfully ignorant about this topic.
maybe we could get away from needing it as badly if valve would provide a strong attestation that the kernel running is unmodified with a secure tpm solution, but they haven’t, so here we are.