Steam Deck game support for Apex Legends is no more, thanks Linux ban

Yet another title under the EA umbrella has taken steps to block Linux OS gaming PCs, and the Steam Deck, from being able to access the game. The Apex Legends team posted an update blaming Linux for a high proportion of “impactful exploits and cheats”, leading to this drastic action being taken.

The Steam Deck is still the best handheld gaming PC, but the recent loss  from the platform of multiple EA games with online features can’t be ignored. This also comes off the heels of Grand Theft Auto 5 on Steam Deck suffering a similar fate, with GTA Online no longer accessible on Valve’s handheld.

In a post to X (formerly Twitter), the following update was posted: “We’re sharing today that Linux (and Steam Deck using Linux) will no longer be able to access Apex Legends.”

The post goes on to state that the team has “identified Linux OS as being a pathway for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats.” Given that many EA games have recently adopted EA Anti-Cheat, which excludes Linux by default, it was expected that Apex Legends might make this move at some point given that it’s one of the last EA-published online games without it. This isn’t the case, but the existing Apex anti-cheat is instead being modified.

This post admits that the portion of Linux players is small but then claims the impact was too great to ignore, bringing about the ultimate decision to ban the operating system entirely. It goes on to point out that it has no way to “differentiate a legitimate Steam Deck from a malicious cheat claiming to be a Steam Deck (via Linux).” As such, it has implemented this blanket ban.

The Steam Deck user base is quite small in the grand scheme of things, even if it’s hard to distinguish an exact number of players, but still amounts to a large total. A best estimate has suggested that 1.5% of monthly Steam users play on a Deck, which would total around 1.45m players.

Meanwhile, looking at the Steam Deck most played chart for the past year, Apex Legends sits in 48th position, down 24 spaces from the previous year. It’s been a fairly consistent performer on Valve’s handheld, but will soon drop off the list entirely thanks to this latest development.

If you want to know which games can still be played on Valve’s portable, then check out our list of the best Steam Deck games which features games we’ve tested for your peace of mind.