Fortnite is coming to Linux as Epic rebuilds Easy Anti-Cheat, but there’s no date yet

What Epic announced

The announcement came alongside the Preview of the new Epic Games Launcher, which for the first time has a native Linux version as well as Windows and macOS. In its Epic Games Store post, the company says that to bring Fortnite to Linux it is rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat and working with distribution maintainers on security requirements. Once it works with a critical mass of distributions, it will release Fortnite on Linux through the Epic Games Launcher.

Epic has not given a date. The Verge reports that Rick Deist, an engineering director at Epic, said in a briefing that there is no timeline for the Linux version. According to the launcher’s official site, the Preview supports Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or newer, Fedora 43 or newer and Debian 12 or newer.

Why Fortnite wasn’t on Linux

In its tech blog, Epic notes that Easy Anti-Cheat has supported native Linux games since 2014 and Windows builds running through Wine or Proton since 2021, but each game chooses whether to turn that support on. Many have not because, by Epic’s own account, its Linux version did not offer the same protection as on Windows, which is why Fortnite isn’t available on Linux. The Verge recalls that in February 2022 Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said the company wasn’t confident it could combat cheating at scale across such a wide range of kernel configurations.

What EAC Linux v2 will require

The new version will not install a kernel module, unlike the driver Epic uses on Windows. Instead, the first time you launch a protected game it will ask you to install a systemd service that only runs while that game is open, and it will rely on eBPF programs and security features Linux already provides.

Epic lists these requirements: a kernel and modules signed with well-known keys, TPM 2.0 enabled, Secure Boot, measured boot, IOMMU enabled on non-handheld devices, kernel lockdown integrity mode, kexec disabled and the BPF LSM active. The initial well-known keys include those used by Ubuntu, Fedora, Universal Blue (Bazzite, Bluefin and Aurora), Debian, openSUSE, SUSE, Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux and the Microsoft UEFI CA.

The company adds that you can keep a separate boot entry just for playing, that failing the requirements shows an error message rather than triggering a ban, and that it aims to open-source the list of well-known keys. Fortnite will be the first game to pilot EAC Linux v2, and once Epic has validated it, the system will be offered to other developers.

What about Steam Deck?

Not for now. Epic says Steam Deck does not support the features EAC Linux v2 needs, although it is talking with Valve and hopes to support it in the future. According to PC Gamer and The Verge, Deist also said the company is investigating SteamOS compatibility. The Verge adds that Epic does not plan to bring Fortnite to the Steam store.