Valve has simply issued an replace to its Steam Deck compatibility scores 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 avid gamers, like these utilizing Valve’s handheld gaming PC, from enjoying on-line with different avid gamers.
Whereas the Steam Deck continues to be one of the best handheld gaming PC for many avid gamers, consistency with the platform’s verification scores 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 ranking has been modified.
The scores for each video games have been up to date earlier as we speak, 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 implies 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 ranking when the BattlEye anti-cheat was added to the sport in September 2024.
Excellent news for avid gamers? 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 ranking simply doesn’t make sense.
Declaring GTA 5 as Unplayable final 12 months was an in any other case constant transfer with earlier selections, corresponding to Ghost of Tsushima’s Unplayable ranking when that sport’s PC port launched on Steam again in Might 2024. That sport was rated Unplayable as a result of 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 possibility amongst builders, utilized in video games together with Future 2, PUBG, and Fortnite, amongst others. Whereas BattlEye does technically help Linux, it’s as much as builders so as to add help for it of their video games. For probably the most half, improvement groups have as a substitute chosen to dam Linux help fully, stopping avid gamers (like these with a Steam Deck working SteamOS) from enjoying 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 elements to work appropriately for avid gamers to wish to play it.
Whereas playable within the sense that the sport runs, a Steam Deck Playable ranking for this sport is arguably extra absurd than for GTA 5 Enhanced, as avid gamers gained’t actually have the ability to do a lot with the sport put in.
Outdoors of the replace, Valve hasn’t made any public remark concerning the playability of each video games. Whereas an replace to BattlEye to help Linux in each video games can be vastly welcomed by Steam Deck avid gamers, it’s not possible that we’ll be seeing that right here. For now, in case you’re a Steam Deck gamer who desires to play these video games on-line, you’ll want to put in Home windows on the system to take action.
In case you’re new to handhelds, you may wish to take into account a Home windows-only possibility just like the Asus ROG Ally X instead, which gained’t have the anti-cheat issues you’re seeing right here. You’ll be able to try our Asus ROG Ally X evaluation to learn our ideas concerning the highly effective Steam Deck competitor.
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