According to engadget, Valve’s newly announced Steam Machine faces a critical barrier that could determine its success: Linux’s anti-cheat problem. The system, shipping with 8GB of VRAM in 2026, aims to bring PC gaming to console players but currently can’t run many popular competitive titles. More than half of the 1,136 games requiring anti-cheat software don’t work on SteamOS, with 682 titles blocked for various reasons. Major games like Fortnite, Valorant, and PUBG have never been playable on Steam Deck due to cheating concerns. Even EA withdrew Linux support for Apex Legends last fall, citing Linux as “a path for a variety of impactful exploits and cheats.” The issue stems from Linux’s open nature making cheating software harder to detect and the small Linux player base not justifying developer resources.
The cheating dilemma
Here’s the thing about Linux gaming: the very openness that makes it appealing also creates massive security headaches for developers. As Riot’s Phillip Koskinas put it in 2024, “You can freely manipulate the kernel, and there’s no user mode calls to attest that it’s even genuine. You could make a Linux distribution that’s purpose-built for cheating and we’d be smoked.” That’s basically the core problem in a nutshell. Studios aren’t just being difficult – they’re facing genuine technical challenges that could undermine their entire competitive ecosystem.
And let’s be honest, when you’re talking about competitive shooters where milliseconds matter, cheating can completely ruin the experience. Valve has tried to bridge this gap with Proton compatibility for BattlEye and Easy Anti-Cheat, but many developers just aren’t convinced. They see Linux as an unnecessary risk for what amounts to a tiny fraction of their player base. When Riot implemented Vanguard for League of Legends, they found only about 800 daily Linux users out of millions. That math just doesn’t work for most studios.
Valve’s opportunity
Now here’s where the Steam Machine changes everything. If Valve can make this thing popular enough to shift those player numbers, suddenly the economics change dramatically. The Steam Deck proved there’s real demand for portable PC gaming – imagine what a living-room focused device could do. We’re talking about potentially millions of new Linux gamers who want to play the latest competitive titles.
But Valve can’t just wait for the player numbers to materialize. They need to build better tools for developers. The current approach of hoping studios will port their anti-cheat solutions to every Linux distribution clearly isn’t working. What’s needed is a standardized sandbox or security layer that works across SteamOS consistently. Think of it like Apple’s approach with macOS – controlled enough to be secure, but open enough for gaming.
I suspect Valve knows this. They’ve been investing heavily in Linux gaming infrastructure for years, and the Steam Machine represents their biggest push yet into the console space. If they can crack this nut, suddenly the entire PC gaming landscape looks very different. No more Windows tax, no more Microsoft’s questionable priorities – just pure gaming focused on what players actually want.
The stakes
Look, the Steam Machine isn’t just another console. It’s potentially the vehicle that could finally break Windows’ stranglehold on PC gaming. But without access to the most popular competitive games, it’s going to struggle to attract the mainstream audience Valve needs. The Are We Anti-Cheat Yet database shows exactly how big this problem is – over half of protected games remain unplayable.
So what happens if Valve solves this? We could see a genuine platform war in PC gaming, with developers supporting SteamOS alongside Windows. That would be huge for competition and innovation. But if they can’t? The Steam Machine becomes another interesting niche product rather than the revolution many PC gamers are hoping for.
The clock is ticking. With a 2026 release date, Valve has time to work on solutions. But they need to start making serious progress now if they want to avoid the same limitations that have kept the Steam Deck from being a complete PC gaming replacement. Here’s hoping they figure it out – because honestly, who wouldn’t want to leave Windows behind at this point?
