Valve has simply issued an replace to its Steam Deck compatibility rankings for GTA 5 Enhanced and Rainbow Six Siege, declaring them each as Playable. That’s regardless of each video games utilizing the identical BattlEye anti-cheat software program that blocks Linux players, like these utilizing Valve’s handheld gaming PC, from taking part in on-line with different players.
Whereas the Steam Deck continues to be the very best handheld gaming PC for many players, consistency with the platform’s verification rankings has been an issue for a while. Whereas GTA 5 Enhanced’s primary offline mode doesn’t require anti-cheat, GTA On-line does, as does Rainbow Six Siege, leaving a query mark over why the score has been modified.
The rankings for each video games have been up to date earlier right this moment, with none further steering from Valve relating to the playability of both sport on-line. SteamDB pages for each GTA 5 Enhanced and Rainbow Six Siege present that compatibility entries for each video games have been up to date at precisely the identical time.
It signifies that GTA 5 is now listed as playable on the Steam Deck for the primary time because the non-enhanced model misplaced its Steam Deck Playable score when the BattlEye anti-cheat was added to the sport in September 2024.
Excellent news for players? Properly, probably not. As I’ve talked about, GTA 5 Enhanced is theoretically playable offline within the core offline sport mode, however the GTA On-line expertise is simply too firmly built-in into the sport to easily disregard – the score simply doesn’t make sense.
Declaring GTA 5 as Unplayable final yr was an in any other case constant transfer with earlier choices, resembling Ghost of Tsushima’s Unplayable score when that sport’s PC port launched on Steam again in Could 2024. That sport was rated Unplayable because of the incompatibility of SteamOS with its Legends multiplayer mode, regardless of the in any other case strong efficiency in single-player.
BattlEye, the anti-cheat element utilized in each video games, is a well-liked choice amongst builders, utilized in video games together with Future 2, PUBG, and Fortnite, amongst others. Whereas BattlEye does technically assist Linux, it’s as much as builders so as to add assist for it of their video games. For probably the most half, growth groups have as an alternative chosen to dam Linux assist fully, stopping players (like these with a Steam Deck operating SteamOS) from taking part in on-line in any respect.
That’s why the change in Steam Deck compatibility for each video games is a complicated one which makes the system even much less constant than earlier than. It’s much more complicated when you think about Rainbow Six Siege, a multiplayer FPS that, by definition, requires its on-line parts to work accurately for players to need to play it.
Whereas playable within the sense that the sport runs, a Steam Deck Playable score for this sport is arguably extra absurd than for GTA 5 Enhanced, as players received’t actually be capable to do a lot with the sport put in.
Exterior of the replace, Valve hasn’t made any public remark in regards to the playability of each video games. Whereas an replace to BattlEye to assist Linux in each video games can be vastly welcomed by Steam Deck players, it’s impossible that we’ll be seeing that right here. For now, when you’re a Steam Deck gamer who needs to play these video games on-line, you’ll want to put in Home windows on the system to take action.
In the event you’re new to handhelds, you would possibly need to contemplate a Home windows-only choice just like the Asus ROG Ally X in its place, which received’t have the anti-cheat issues you’re seeing right here. You possibly can try our Asus ROG Ally X evaluation to learn our ideas in regards to the highly effective Steam Deck competitor.
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