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Steam Deck Users Concerned About Future of Popular Battlefield Game

Published Aug 28, 2024

Kyle has a degree in Film, Television, and Cultural Studies and has loved video games for as long as he can remember. He's owned every PlayStation, dabbled with the occasional Xbox, and even owned a PSP Go, if anybody actually remembers those. These days, he's more into building PCs and spending all of his money on the latest triple-a releases.

During his time as a journalist, Kyle has interviewed developers and game directors, reviewed some of the year's biggest releases, attended preview events for huge triple-a titles, and occasionally ranted about his love/hate relationship with Call of Duty.

Summary

EA's anti-cheat system is coming to Battlefield 1 in September, causing Steam Deck users to fear the end of the game on the platform.
Despite being older, Battlefield 1 is more popular than Battlefield 2042, with positive reviews and higher player count.
The transition to EA's anti-cheat system means Linux devices will no longer support Battlefield 1, disappointing players.

EA has confirmed it will be implementing its anti-cheat system into Battlefield 1 in September, but Steam Deck users believe this is the end of the shooter on the handheld platform as EA's anti-cheat does not support Linux devices. Although Battlefield 1 was previously listed as playable on the Steam Deck, its store page has now been adjusted to unsupported due to the upcoming anti-cheat implementation.

While Battlefield 1 isn't necessarily considered to be one of the best games on the Steam Deck, it is one of the most popular entries in the series. On Steam, Battlefield 1 has an impressive "very positive" review rating with over 136,000 reviews since its release in 2016. When compared to the series' latest entry, Battlefield 2042, the difference is night and day. The 2021 shooter had a rocky launch and was panned by critics and fans, but it has managed to bring itself back up to a "mixed" review rating with over 212,000 reviews thanks to the help of multiple content updates.

In a new blog post on the EA website, the studio confirmed that Battlefield 1 would be the next title in the critically acclaimed series to transition over to EA's anti-cheat system, following on from Battlefield 5's anti-cheat update in April. While EA noted that players won't notice anything different in-game, it does mean that Battlefield 1 will no longer be playable on the Steam Deck, and the community isn't happy.

Battlefield 1 Will Soon Be Unsupported on Steam Deck

EA's in-house anti-cheat allows the studio to tackle any PC cheaters to allow for a fair and positive experience when playing multiplayer matches. However, the system is only supported on Windows 10 and 11, which means any devices running Linux will no longer be able to play the popular shooter. While this will also affect PC users who game on Linux, it is Steam Deck owners who appear to be the most cut up about the change.

Over on Reddit, user HoagieThief questioned whether they would be able to refund the shooter as it will no longer be playable on their platform of choice, but another user quickly chimed in and said they attempted to refund Battlefield 5 when EA implemented its anti-cheat system back in April, but Valve denied the request multiple times. Plenty of other users praised EA for supporting its older titles but said the studio "sucks" for essentially disregarding an entire player base with the update.

Due to the disastrous launch of Battlefield 2042, Battlefield 1 still manages to outperform the latest release, despite being eight years old. According to SteamDB, Battlefield 1 averages around 15,000 players at peak times, while Battlefield 2042 only pulls in around 10,000 users during the same period. There's no way to know how many of those players are on Steam Deck, but the shooter's continued popularity could be seriously affected come September.

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Battlefield 1 Tag Page Cover Art

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Systems

PC-1

PlayStation-1

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OpenCritic Reviews: Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 96%

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Released: October 21, 2016
ESRB: M for Mature: Blood, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s): DICE
Publisher(s): Electronic Arts

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Battlefield 1 Cinematic

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Battlefield 1 Cinematic

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The Rupture map in Battlefield 1

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Experience the dawn of all-out war only in Battlefield 1. Fight your way through epic battles ranging from tight urban combat in a besieged French city to the heavily defended mountain forts in the Italian Alps or frantic combats in the deserts of Arabia. Use innovative weaponry and vehicles as you battle across the land, air and sea, and adapt your tactics to earth-shattering destruction.

Discover a world at war through an adventure-filled campaign, or join in epic multiplayer clashes with up to 64 players, in the most dynamic battles in Battlefield history.

Engine: Frostbite
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer
Franchise: Battlefield
Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre(s): FPS
How Long To Beat: 8 Hours
File Size Xbox Series: 74 GB (June 2023)

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