Bazzite Anti-Cheat Games: What Works, What’s Blocked (2026)

Short answer: On Bazzite, an anti-cheat game works only if its developer has turned on Linux or Proton support for its anti-cheat. Many Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye games have done that, including Elden Ring, Dead by Daylight, Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Rocket League. Valorant, League of Legends, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Battlefield 6, EA Sports FC, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege X are all listed as not working online on Linux. For those games, the realistic options are dual-booting Windows or cloud gaming, where the game offers it.

Official-source review — 14 October 2026 UTC: We checked Valve’s Steamworks Proton documentation, the Bazzite documentation, announcements and statements from Epic, BattlEye, Riot, EA, Bungie, Rockstar and NVIDIA (read on their own sites or as quoted by GamingOnLinux), and two community trackers: Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? and the GamingOnLinux anti-cheat list. We did not install Bazzite or test these games.

Why Bazzite anti-cheat support depends on the game, not on Bazzite

Bazzite runs Windows games through Proton, the same compatibility layer SteamOS uses. Our Bazzite vs SteamOS comparison covers how the two systems differ. On anti-cheat they are in the same position, because the deciding switch belongs to each game’s developer, not to the operating system.

Valve’s Steamworks Proton documentation says Proton supports Easy Anti-Cheat “without requiring any recompilation”, but developers must “manually enable support for your build”. For BattlEye, the same page says “each title requires a manual configuration step”.

The vendors set it up this way from the start. In September 2021, Epic announced Easy Anti-Cheat support for Linux, Wine and Proton, and said developers could switch it on “with just a few clicks” in the Epic Online Services portal. A day later, BattlEye confirmed Proton support on an opt-in basis, with each developer choosing whether to allow it.

That is why two games with the same anti-cheat can behave differently. Elden Ring and Fortnite both use Easy Anti-Cheat. Elden Ring is listed as working on Linux. Fortnite is not, because Epic has chosen not to enable support for it.

Which anti-cheats block Linux, and what publishers have said

Valve’s documentation also says “kernel-space solutions are not currently supported and are not recommended” under Proton. Some large publishers have still chosen kernel-level or Windows-only systems, or have switched Linux support off.

• Riot Vanguard (Valorant, League of Legends). Riot’s “What is Vanguard?” support page says it runs “along with a kernel mode driver”. When Riot announced Vanguard for League in January 2024, GamingOnLinux reported a Riot staff member’s answer on Wine support: “No unfortunately not.”
• Easy Anti-Cheat, switched off by the publisher (Fortnite, Apex Legends). In 2022, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said Epic did not “have confidence that we’d be able to combat cheating at scale” across Linux kernel configurations. In October 2024, EA and Respawn said “Linux (and Steam Deck using Linux) will no longer be able to access Apex Legends.”
• EA Javelin Anticheat (Battlefield 6, EA Sports FC). EA executive Vince Zampella told PCGamesN that Battlefield 6 “does not work on Steam Deck.” GamingOnLinux reported at launch that Battlefield 6 would not be playable on any Linux or SteamOS system. In March 2026, an EA job listing mentioned a goal to “chart a path” to Linux and Proton support. That is a hiring note, not a release date.
• Ricochet (Call of Duty). GamingOnLinux lists every Ricochet title it tracks as broken, including Black Ops 6, Black Ops 7 and Warzone.
• BattlEye, not enabled for Linux (Destiny 2, GTA Online). Bungie’s guide says Destiny 2 “is not supported for play on the Steam Deck or on any system utilizing Steam Play’s Proton”, and warns that bypassing this leads to a ban. Rockstar’s FAQ says “Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online”, but Story Mode still plays.
• FACEIT. Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? lists Counter-Strike 2 as supported under Valve’s VAC, but lists its FACEIT and ESEA versions as denied. Matchmaking on Valve’s own servers and on FACEIT are two separate cases.

Anti-cheat game status table for Bazzite and Linux

Statuses come from two community-maintained trackers, checked on 14 October 2026, plus the publisher statements above. Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? describes itself as crowd-sourced, and its GitHub repository was last updated on 13 October 2026. The GamingOnLinux anti-cheat list tracked 266 games, and its newest entry was dated 10 October 2026. “Works” means at least one tracker lists working online play and no publisher has blocked Linux. “Partial” means only some modes or devices are listed as working.

Where the trackers disagree, as with Escape from Tarkov and Delta Force, plan around the stricter status.

What the Bazzite documentation says about anti-cheat

The Bazzite project does not promise anti-cheat support. Its Introduction to Gaming on Bazzite says some newer online multiplayer games “require deeper access to your computer hardware and Windows drivers to run their anti-cheat software”, and that those games are “unplayable except on Windows”. The same page sends readers to ProtonDB and Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? to check compatibility.

Our Bazzite software page covers the system itself. For anti-cheat, the point is simple: Bazzite cannot fix a game the developer has blocked, and SteamOS or any other Linux distribution cannot either.

Dual-booting Windows next to Bazzite

If one blocked game is the reason you play, a Windows install on the same machine is the option the Bazzite docs plan for. The Bazzite dual boot setup guide says to disable BitLocker and fast startup, then shrink the Windows partition first. It recommends a separate drive for each system: “When a dedicated drive is feasible, this method is recommended.” It also lists ujust regenerate-grub to add Windows to the boot menu and ujust setup-boot-windows-steam to add a Steam shortcut that reboots into Windows. The page is marked obsolete in the docs, so check the current installation guide before you partition anything.

Keep three things in mind:

• Bungie’s guide says Destiny 2 is unsupported on Proton “unless Windows is installed and running”, so Windows is the supported route there.
• Zampella said Battlefield 6 does not work on Steam Deck. The headline of the PCGamesN interview adds that other PC handhelds, which run Windows, might work.
• On a Windows handheld, a controller and performance tool such as Handheld Companion takes over some of the jobs Bazzite’s Game Mode does.

Download Windows, drivers and any boot tools only from the vendor’s own site. If you are unsure about a download page, run it through our download site checker first.

Cloud gaming for blocked titles

Cloud streaming runs the game on a Windows server, so the anti-cheat never runs on your Linux machine. It depends on the game being offered on the service you use.

• GeForce NOW. NVIDIA said Battlefield 6 would be streamable on GeForce NOW at launch. In January 2026, NVIDIA announced a native Linux app targeting “Ubuntu 24.04 and later distributions”. It had already added Steam Deck support before that. GamingOnLinux’s Battlefield 6 launch report also points to the browser version on Linux.
• Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft publishes a guide to Xbox Cloud Gaming in Microsoft Edge on Steam Deck. The guide uses a community-maintained Edge Flatpak, and Microsoft says it “does not provide official support” for Edge on SteamOS. Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? notes that Fortnite “Works on Xbox-Cloud”.

Check each service’s own game list before paying, because catalogs change.

How to check an anti-cheat game yourself before you buy

1. Read the game’s official FAQ or support site. Search for “Steam Deck”, “Linux” or “Proton”. Rockstar’s and Bungie’s answers both came from their own support pages.
2. Look it up on Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? Read the dated update notes as well as the status label.
3. Cross-check the GamingOnLinux list. It flags cases such as “Single Player Only” and “Steam Deck / SteamOS only”.
4. Read recent reports on ProtonDB. The Bazzite docs describe it as “user reports for game compatibility on Linux”. Sort by newest, because a single update can break or fix a game.
5. Check the date. Apex Legends worked on Linux from 2022 until EA switched support off in October 2024. A “works” status is only as good as its last update.

None of the sources above describe a Decky Loader plugin that changes a game’s anti-cheat status.

Sources

• Steam Deck: Proton (Steamworks Documentation) — Valve
• Introduction to Gaming on Bazzite — Bazzite Docs
• Dual Boot Setup Guide — Bazzite Docs
• Are We Anti-Cheat Yet? — community-maintained tracker
• AreWeAntiCheatYet commit history — GitHub
• Linux, SteamOS / Steam Deck Anti-Cheat Compatibility List — GamingOnLinux
• RICOCHET Anti-Cheat compatibility — GamingOnLinux
• Epic Games announce full Easy Anti-Cheat support for Linux including Wine & Proton — GamingOnLinux
• BattlEye confirms Linux support for Steam Deck, will be opt-in like Easy Anti-Cheat — GamingOnLinux
• What is Vanguard? — Riot Games Support
• League of Legends likely unplayable on Linux / Steam Deck soon due to Vanguard anti-cheat — GamingOnLinux
• Epic Games CEO says a clear No to Fortnite on Steam Deck — GamingOnLinux
• EA / Respawn now block Apex Legends from running on Linux and Steam Deck — GamingOnLinux
• Battlefield 6 won’t play on Steam Deck, but other PC handhelds might work — PCGamesN
• Battlefield 6 releases today and it will not be playable on any Linux / SteamOS system — GamingOnLinux
• EA Javelin Anticheat job listing mentions future support for Linux and Proton — GamingOnLinux
• Bungie say a big fat no to Proton and Steam Deck for Destiny 2 — GamingOnLinux
• Grand Theft Auto V gets BattlEye anti-cheat, breaks online play on Steam Deck / Linux — GamingOnLinux
• Incoming: ‘Battlefield 6’ Lands on GeForce NOW at Launch — NVIDIA Blog
• NVIDIA announce a native Linux app for GeForce NOW — GamingOnLinux
• Xbox Cloud Gaming in Microsoft Edge with Steam Deck — Microsoft Support
• ProtonDB — community compatibility reports