Epic Games is working to bring Fortnite to Linux through the Epic Games Launcher, but the project remains conditional: Epic needs a “critical mass” of Linux distribution maintainers to meet its security requirements, and it has not given a release date. Steam Deck and Steam Machine compatibility could follow, but neither is confirmed as a supported launch platform.

Eurogamer, PC Gamer and GamingOnLinux report that the plan involves rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat for Linux. Epic’s new launcher also has a Linux version in preview, adding another piece of the puzzle for players who want to run Epic games on the platform. The Epic Games Launcher’s Linux preview is separate from a confirmed Fortnite release: the game still depends on the anti-cheat work and distro participation.

Why Fortnite needs more than a Linux port

Easy Anti-Cheat is already used by Fortnite and games including Dead by Daylight, Rocket League, Apex Legends and Elden Ring. Although the service supports Linux, many developers have not enabled it there because its existing Linux implementation has not offered protection equivalent to its Windows version. That gap has kept a number of anti-cheat-heavy multiplayer games away from SteamOS devices.

Epic plans to work with Linux distribution maintainers on security measures, including signed kernels, signed kernel modules and secure boot with attestation. Linux distributions are not interchangeable: SteamOS is based on Arch Linux, and each distro would need to implement the requirements for Fortnite to run under Epic’s plan. The more distributions that meet them by default, the less setup players may have to do.

The security trade-off is familiar to anyone following the economics and enforcement challenges of game cheating: developers want stronger safeguards, while Linux’s open nature means system-level protections cannot simply be assumed to be in place. Epic says its goal is to bring Linux protection much closer to Windows parity.

Fortnite is the test case, not a Steam Deck guarantee

Epic intends to test the upgraded anti-cheat in Fortnite before making the improvements available to other developers. That means the work could matter beyond one battle royale: other studios using Easy Anti-Cheat may be able to adopt the Linux improvements later, even if Fortnite’s required distro threshold is not reached.

There are practical limits for Steam hardware, too. PC Gamer and GamingOnLinux report that the Steam Deck does not currently support the requirements for the new Linux anti-cheat, while Epic is in contact with Valve about supporting Steam devices. The primary announcement describes that communication as an effort to support the hardware as far as technically possible; it does not confirm that existing Deck hardware is ready.

The Steam Deck handheld gaming console. – Photo: by / CC BY-SA 4.0 What Epic has announced What remains unresolved Fortnite is planned for Linux through the Epic Games Launcher No release date has been announced Availability depends on a critical mass of distro maintainers Epic has not defined the required number Easy Anti-Cheat will be tested in Fortnite first Steam Deck and Steam Machine support is not confirmed

For now, the next meaningful milestone is testing EAC’s Linux improvements in Fortnite. Epic has not said when that testing or a Linux release will begin.

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