Anti-cheat across Linux distros
Does your distro change whether anti-cheat games run? Mostly no, but it changes the environment around them.
Support is decided by the game, not the distro.
Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye run under Proton only when the developer has enabled Linux support for the game, and that does not depend on which distribution you use. What a distro changes is the surrounding system: library versions, kernel defaults, and security sandboxes. Check a game's status on its tracker page first.
Distributions
SteamOS (Steam Deck)
Arch Linux · Immutable image, updated by Valve
- Valve ships and updates the system. Easy Anti-Cheat and BattlEye work only when a developer enables Linux support for the game. Phoronix
Tip: Valve's own platform. Steam handles the anti-cheat runtimes for you.
Arch Linux
Independent · Rolling release
- In August 2022, glibc 2.36 dropped a section Easy Anti-Cheat relied on, and EAC games failed to start on Arch and other early adopters. Arch and others shipped a fix. Phoronix
Tip: A rolling release takes new glibc and kernel versions first, which is how the 2022 EAC breakage reached it early.
Fedora
Independent (Red Hat sponsored) · Fixed release, about every 6 months
- Ships vm.max_map_count at 1048576, so memory-hungry games that crashed on the old 65530 limit need no sysctl tuning. GamingOnLinux
Tip: No vm.max_map_count tuning needed.
Ubuntu / Debian
Debian · Fixed releases (Ubuntu every 6 months, LTS every 2 years)
- Ubuntu 24.04 restricts unprivileged user namespaces through AppArmor. A flaw in the shipped Steam profile made Steam fail with "Steam now requires user namespaces to be enabled". Steam for Linux issue
- AppArmor profiles may be needed for apps that build their own sandboxes. Ubuntu Discourse
Tip: If Steam won't start on Ubuntu 24.04, see the AppArmor user-namespace note above.
Nobara
Fedora · Fedora-based, gaming-tuned (by the creator of Proton-GE)
- Ships Proton-GE, Lutris and drivers pre-installed. The Register
- Our recommendation: for online anti-cheat games, use Proton Experimental or official Proton rather than GE-Proton.
Tip: Comes with gaming software pre-installed.
Comparison
| Distro | Release model | Kernel & glibc | vm.max_map_count |
|---|---|---|---|
| SteamOS (Steam Deck) | Immutable image, updated by Valve | Valve-managed. SteamOS 3.7 shipped the Linux 6.11 kernel. | Configured by Valve for games |
| Arch Linux | Rolling release | Newest stable kernel and glibc, so it hits compatibility changes first. | 1048576 (raised from 65530 in April 2024) GamingOnLinux |
| Fedora | Fixed release, about every 6 months | Recent kernels and a recent glibc, between Arch and Ubuntu. | 1048576 GamingOnLinux |
| Ubuntu / Debian | Fixed releases (Ubuntu every 6 months, LTS every 2 years) | Older kernel and glibc than rolling distros, mostly on LTS and Debian stable. Steam's own runtime supplies the game userland. | Ubuntu: 1048576. Debian: not confirmed, so check with sysctl vm.max_map_count GamingOnLinux |
| Nobara | Fedora-based, gaming-tuned (by the creator of Proton-GE) | A patched kernel with gaming tweaks such as FUTEX2 and the NTSYNC driver. | Inherited from Fedora (1048576) GamingOnLinux |
vm.max_map_count is a kernel limit that memory-hungry games can exceed and crash. Kernel and glibc versions change constantly, so we describe each distro's approach instead of listing version numbers that go stale. Check yours with uname -r and ldd --version.
Something failing?
Paste your Proton or dmesg output into the log analyzer for a diagnosis, or run the compatibility checker.
Last researched October 2026. Only documented behavior is listed, and each claim links its source. Corrections welcome through the report button on any game page.