I’m a Linux gamer.
That means I’m used to disappointment. This game isn’t supported on your platform. Every big multiplayer release brings the same cycle: hype, checking ProtonDB, and then that familiar slap in the face of kernel-level anti-cheat.

For years, that infuriated me. I didn’t want to use Windows; I just wanted to play Fortnite, Warzone, and Madden more than I loved the open-source mindset and enjoyed my easy Linux workflow. I thought developers were just lazy, or indifferent.

I wasn’t overly ideological. I saw the benefits of the open-source model and wanted to use that model whenever possible. I just wanted to use my computer.

But then I started looking closer at what these anti-cheat systems actually do. Now? I’m 100% Linux and relieved that kernel-level anti-cheat is unavailable.

The Rootkit in a Gamer’s Disguise

Kernel-level anti-cheats are marketed as “necessary” for fairness. But underneath the PR, they’re functionally indistinguishable from rootkits.

Both:

• Run in ring 0, the most privileged layer of your operating system.
  
• Hook system calls, intercept processes, and monitor memory.
  
• Hide themselves from user-space tools.
  

The only difference is intent. Rootkits are written by attackers; anti-cheats are written by billion-dollar publishers.

Rootkits are not defined by their morality or intent, but by architecture and level of privilege.

Either way, you’re installing code that can see everything, do anything, and live beneath your OS.

That’s not a “security feature.” That’s trust on a cosmic scale.

Closed Source, Full Privilege

These drivers are closed-source and kernel-resident.
You can’t audit them. You can’t sandbox them. You can’t even verify that they’re only touching “game memory.”

When a company says “don’t worry, we only monitor what’s necessary,” you’re taking that entirely on faith.
And that same driver can read your passwords, inspect your VPN, or snoop your SSH keys if it’s ever compromised.

The signature on the binary doesn’t guarantee safety. It just means someone paid Microsoft for a certificate.

Reality Isn’t Neat; It’s Human

Let’s be honest.
People click phishing links. They torrent. They browse sites they shouldn’t. They use one laptop for work, gaming, banking, and the occasional “questionable download.”

That’s real life.
Now add a privileged kernel driver into the mix.

One vulnerability, one sloppy update, or one hijacked installer is all it takes for that “anti-cheat” to become a malicious rootkit following you straight through your corporate VPN tunnel.

My Shift: From Angry to Relieved

When I first saw “anti-cheat not supported on Linux,” I felt excluded.
Now I see it as protection.The fact that those drivers can’t even load here is honestly a relief.

The Ironic Twist

Gamers will refuse their employer’s endpoint agent for “privacy reasons,” then happily install a closed-source kernel driver from a game publisher that phones home 24/7.

It’s funny until you realize it’s horrifying.

So Yeah, No Linux Support Sucks…

…but it might also be the best thing that ever happened to me.I get to keep gaming without gambling my entire workstation, my projects, and my sanity on a company’s promise that their rootkit is the good kind.

But I Want to Play BF6!

Awesome!! I highly encourage it! This blog will never say that Linux is the correct choice for you (Gaming, CAD, specific Windows or Mac programs that you want to run natively are great reasons not to), that you NEED to use Tailscale or Proxmox, and that you can’t play certain games.

One of the goals of this blog is to simplify complex computing. Computing is just a series of yes/no questions. A 1 or a 0. Understanding the cascading effects of our decisions, weighing the different forces at play, and creating conscious choices that affect our livelihood. (Tell someone with a compromised identity through PII leaks that this isn’t the case.)

NO, I REALLY WANT TO PLAY BF6! (Safely, of course)

The simplest way to do this is to set up a dual boot environment. (WINDOWS USERS YOU CAN DO THIS TOO!) You don’t even have to install grub on a separate partition with a live-cd and do all that nerd shit if you’ve made the decision for yourself that you DoNt PrOgRaM.

Windows will automatically recognize other Windows installs during installation and Windows Boot Loader will let you choose the OS that you want to boot.

When you set up your sandboxed gaming environment you should think about

• Spoofing your MAC address to keep it off your trusted VLANs and adjust ACLs accordingly
• If a stranger had full admin privileges to this system, is there something I would not want them to have access to?

TL;DR

Anti-cheat at ring 0 is just a rootkit with marketing.
If Linux blocks it, maybe Linux is saving you.