GTA V, one of the most popular Steam Deck games, is now ‘unsupported’

Grand Theft Auto V was 1 of the apical 10 astir played games connected Valve’s Steam Deck handheld this past week. It’s been successful the apical 20 for astatine slightest 2 years. But arsenic of today, Valve present lists the crippled arsenic “unsupported” — due to the fact that developer Rockstar mysteriously broke compatibility with Valve’s handheld for its online modes.

As you tin spot successful the representation above, this is the latest combat astir Linux anti-cheat: similar the developers of Fortnite and Roblox, Rockstar has decided not to enactment the Steam Deck with its caller anti-cheat bundle for GTA Online — a crippled that, by each accounts, severely needed to woody with cheaters. (Outside the Steam Deck, amended anti-cheat was astir apt a bully move.)

But dissimilar Fortnite and Roblox, Rockstar is taking the multiplayer chunk of the crippled distant from people, alternatively than not bringing it to the Steam Deck successful the archetypal place. It’s besides blaming Valve for the problem, claiming that “Steam Deck does not enactment BattlEye for GTA Online” and directing each further questions to Valve.

And it’s not answering 1 cardinal question: wherefore didn’t it flip the alleged power that lets BattlEye anti-cheat enactment connected the Steam Deck?

Because it does work, past I checked. Valve enabled BattlEye for the Steam Deck years ago, and a fig of games with the anti-cheat bundle successfully made the jump. Valve has said that enabling a crippled with BattlEye to tally connected Steam Deck is virtually arsenic casual arsenic sending an email. But Rockstar didn’t reply erstwhile I asked astir that. I besides pinged Valve’s Pierre-Loup Griffais to spot if thing has changed successful the anticheat country since, but haven’t yet heard back.

I person repeatedly heard it suggested that letting Linux users play astir with anti-cheat invites them to fig retired ways to dismantle it, but Epic’s Tim Sweeney suggested past twelvemonth that it mightiness beryllium much astir economics.

On the positive side, GTA V’s azygous subordinate should inactive work. “You volition beryllium capable to play GTAV Story Mode but incapable to play GTA Online,” reads Rockstar’s FAQ.