Steam Deck players can no longer enjoy GTA Online
Rockstar recently added the BattlEye anti-cheat software into Grand Theft Auto V, all in an effort to halt cheating in GTA Online. However, as noted by GamingOnLinux, the developer appears to have not enabled Linux support — as a result the online portion of the insanely popular 2013 game no longer works fully on Valve's Steam Deck.
Rockstar explained in a new FAQ that the anti-cheat solution is now enabled as part of ongoing efforts to protect players, adding that they've "begun monitoring and prohibiting suspicious activity on PC via BattlEye".
They go on to acknowledge that as a result of this change the game no longer is fully functional on Steam Deck: "Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online. You will be able to play GTAV Story Mode but unable to play GTA Online".
Prior to this change the game previously held a Steam Deck Playable status on the Steam store, but now, owing to the addition of BattlEye, the game has lost this status.
It's a rather crummy situation for players on Steam Deck who bought the game on Steam to specifically play GTA Online and now find that they can't play on their device of choice. I'd be curious if Valve is offering refunds for affected players.
Our friends over at GamingOnLinux have reached out to both Rockstar and Valve for further comment on the situation. However, a support ticket response suggests that a fix may be on the way — so maybe all hope isn't lost here?
