GTA Online gets the anti-cheat support on PC it’s sorely needed for the last 9 years, but Steam Deck players are paying the price

Public lobbies are so back

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Nine years after its initial release, Rockstar has added the third-party anti-cheat software BattlEye to the PC version ofGTA V, and it’s been a long time coming. The addition of a PC anti-cheat was added as part of alarger title updateto celebrate the game’s eleven-year anniversary and remind us that the passage of time is inevitable.

BattlEye is a pretty common anti-cheat software found in other multiplayer games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite. The software can ban users on a hardware level if they are caught using mods or cheats extensively, meaning if you get caught cheating in GTA Online, your computer will no longer be able to play the game.

If you don’t play GTA Online, Rockstar has added the option to disable BattlEye for Story Mode, making it a bit easier for folks to ignore dealing with a new program running on their computer.

However, players are reporting a new issue where GTA Online is no longer running on their Steam Deck. While many games with the BattlEye anti-cheat are playable on Steam Deck thanks to the Proton Compatibility tool, GTA Online’s newest update doesn’t allow that. So Steam Deck players are out of luck unless Rockstar issues a patch to enable it.

GTA Online has been riddled with cheaters since the game’s early years, creating new and inventive ways to make everyone miserable. Back in 2022, cheaters were using anexploit to spam invite random playerscausing their games to slow down and block out the Sparrow helicopter’s ability to spawn. While another exploit forced players to spectate other people in their session, taking control away from the player.

We’re hopeful that this mitigates the majority of exploits that have plagued GTA Online’s public lobbies for years, but will keep an eye on how this all pans out.

If you’re looking for even more, check out ourcomplete guide to GTA V

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Jesse is a freelance games journalist with almost a decade of experience. He was the Associate Editor at Prima Games for three years and then moved into the world of freelancing where you might have seen his work at the likes of Game Informer, Kotaku, Inverse, and a few others. You can find him playing the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV or whatever hot new multiplayer game his friends are playing.

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