Steam Games Must Fully Disclose Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat On Store Pages (gamingonlinux.com) 53
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Gaming On Linux: Valve announced a change for Steam today that will make things a lot clearer for everyone, as developers will now need to clearly list the kernel-level anti-cheat used on Steam store pages. In the Steamworks Developer post Valve said: "We've heard from more and more developers recently that they're looking for the right way to share anti-cheat information about their game with players. At the same time, players have been requesting more transparency around the anti-cheat services used in games, as well as the existence of any additional software that will be installed within the game."
Developers with games already on Steam will also need to do this, as it's not just for new games coming up for release, and it is also part of the release process now too. So Valve will be doing checks on games to ensure the notices are there and correct. However, it's only being forced for kernel-level anti-cheat. If it's only client-side or server-side, it's optional, but Valve say "we generally think that any game that makes use of anti-cheat technology would benefit from letting players know".
Developers with games already on Steam will also need to do this, as it's not just for new games coming up for release, and it is also part of the release process now too. So Valve will be doing checks on games to ensure the notices are there and correct. However, it's only being forced for kernel-level anti-cheat. If it's only client-side or server-side, it's optional, but Valve say "we generally think that any game that makes use of anti-cheat technology would benefit from letting players know".
Re:Who's Kernel? (Score:5, Informative)
What Valve is saying is that kernel-level anti-cheat must be disclosed but user-space client-side anti-cheat that lives only in the game process is not mandatory to disclose.
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Asking the real question. Who is Kernel and what are their goals?!
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he does that because he likes to eat kernel with a device but sometimes hit the plate!
Kernel anticheat has been a boon (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's hoping the war escalates.
(* VB6 can only compile 32bit binaries so drivers are limited to 32bit Windows; but a beta-stage project called twinBASIC is backwards compatible with VB6 so the unmodified code can be compiled for x64 Windows too, and indeed while I wasn't the first to write one of these in VB6, a distinction [vbforums.com] belonging to far more brilliant programmer The trick, I was the first to have one run on x64 and Windows 11. No WOW64 in km. Have since made more advanced ones I couldn't have made without knowledge from kernel cheat groups).
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many cheats are moving to hardware to bypass the kernel... the war goes on
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Of course at the end of the day one thing will always hold true: "You can't call it a competitive sport if it takes place in your mother's basement." So long as the hardware used to play is in perpetual possession by the players, there will always be a way to cheat. No software
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There will always be a way to cheat period. Not a single sport exists without cheating.
Linux only it seems (Score:1)
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There is EAC for Linux. Or you could buy the game and then download a hacked version that removes the anticheat. Or you could just not want to have kernel-level anticheat no matter what OS you run.
Re: Linux only it seems (Score:1)
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certified-kernel-OS-stack for competition play
They have those already they are called "video game consoles." /s
In all seriousness, the only way that would work is if said "stack" was subject to regular physical inspection. Just like any other sporting equipment used in a ranked competition.
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The vast majority of games barely even get played.
So users will just buy and not play other games.
They should make anti-cheat opt-in for losers who give a fuck about leaderboards more than having a working gaming PC. I think the crowdstrike thing is a pretty good indicator that kernel level anti-cheat is a pretty bad idea. There are tools I wont install on my PC because they smell like an eventual OS reinstall but then some random game I actually pay for will just throw whatever dogshit drivers into my ke
Re:Linux only it seems (Score:4, Informative)
"Which games need to do this?
Going forward, when you submit a new game to Steam, if your game installs a client side, kernel mode anti-cheat, you will need to fill out this new field. We will be going through old games and contacting partners with games that fall into this category."
New games will have to do it, but games already on Steam will need updating.
Not sure the 3 hours this decision has been out will be enough time for all old games to update their game pages.
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Why would it be Linux only? That makes no sense. Actually nothing you wrote makes any sense. Firstly the announcement only came out today which means few (if any) store pages would have been updated already. Secondly Endless Dungeon does not use any kernel level anti-cheat (e.g. Easy Anti-Cheat). Thirdly most games which do use kernel level anticheat have compatibility problems with Linux.
Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat (Score:4, Insightful)
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Why isn't this considered like a virus?
Probably because it's not malware, not replicating, and not malicious. Why would AV vendors try and remove it? What next, AV vendors remove your display driver as well because it runs close to the kernel?
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It is fair to class any form of DRM as malware. It's primary function is interfere with normal operations. As such it also tends to play havoc even when not triggered for that interference.
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DRM has similarities to security back doors.
Not the same thing. (Score:4, Informative)
DRM and kernel level anti-cheat are not the same thing. One benefits only the company at the expense of the user (malware from the user's perspective), the other objectively benefits the user (not malware). You should see some online games get released without any anti-cheat software and they virtually instantly turn into a cesspool of cheaters and shit and frequently end up tanking in reviews in only the first week of release with the *users* calling for anti-cheat to be adopted.
For DRM I'm right there with you. Especially Denuvo which for some games ends up horribly crippling performance. I recall Denuvo devs saying it wasn't them, but then somehow the pirate version of some games ran at 10-15fps higher and I don't think Empress went out of her way to optimise game code while cracking Denuvo :-)
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I disagree. While one can see a net positive effect for the community as whole, it limits the possibilities of the user running the software, i.e., it prevents him from cheating.
Then let me rephrase: If you are a cheating piece of shit then you may consider it malware since it affects your ability to be a cheating piece of shit.
Your computer is yours. You can choose not to install this, along with not installing the associated game. Your ownership doesn't give you the right to negatively affect other people. Literally everything you do is in some way restricted for the sake of a community. If you live in a suburb you can't play loud music at 3am. If you own a car it doesn't mean yo
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It's not corporations calling for anti-cheat. It's users, mainly because it turns out the internet is full of cheating pieces of shit. Corporations don't go out of their way to give other corporations (like EAC) money just for fun.
Anyway you missed my point with the display driver. I frankly don't want an AV solution to uninstall *anything* that I actively want included in the system. And yeah until the human race made up of 14-30 year olds prove that they can be trusted not to be pieces of shit, I actively
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Yes that is the fundamental point of a societal group of people. We have rules to get along. Rules such as not playing loud music at 4am, not driving on the road without a license and following the speed limit.
If you want to play online games in a group of strangers as part of a society I absolutely advocate forcing rules on others. People are too selfish pieces of shit otherwise, double so behind a pseudonym.
Your rights end where other peoples right begin. You are free not to play with cheaters;
That is an ironic use of that phrase since that phrase is used as a justification to restrict someo
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The efficacy of software like easy anticheat is well known and proven. The moaning about cheaters is something that is literally the biggest issue when anticheat systems aren't in place.
You closing your eyes to the obvious doesn't make something a placebo.
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It absolutely is malicious. kernel level anticheats, and even non-kernel DRM, have a LONG history of causing harm to users' machines. Sometimes even physical damage.
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It absolutely is malicious. kernel level anticheats, and even non-kernel DRM, have a LONG history of causing harm to users' machines. Sometimes even physical damage.
Then you can provide some evidence of the physical harm to machines since the list is so long. I'll wait.
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Denuvo makes an extraordinary amount of garbage writes [archive.li] to your SSD. By definition that's damaging. Starforce (and its successors like SecuROM) damaged optical drives [youtube.com]. Kernel level programs are by definition malware, just look at Crowdstrike.
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As annoying as anti cheat / DRM crap is in the kernel it's not a virus. Arguably the stuff AV vendors shove into the kernel is just as bad or worse for destabilizing the software. That said, it would be nice if there were a simple way to identify anti-cheat software by name which is in the kernel, what game likely put it there, and be able disable or uninstall it
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They sometimes do when the anti-cheat updates itself and the new binary ash is no long whitelisted :D
Just say no to anti-cheat (Score:3)
Won't even consider running a game that installs kernel drivers for any reason.
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Clearly you don't play anything online. These days online games that don't use something like Easy Anti Cheat are a cesspool of shit not worth playing. Welcome to 2024 where everyone is a cheating arsehole and the only way to play is to cede a bit of control to the likes of EAC.
But this is Slashdot, you shouldn't care about using kernel level anything because you are only using Windows exclusively to play a few games in a VM anyway right ;-)
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A lot of faith in anticheats used to apply cheats [pcgamer.com].
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Clearly you don't play anything online.
Nothing wrong with that. Too bad the market no longer caters to these kinds of gamers, which is why I no longer buy new games.
Re:Just say no to anti-cheat (Score:5, Insightful)
Just say no to Steam entirely. Good Old Games (GOG) give you an installer that doesn't requite a client app like Steam does, and which is DRM free. You can keep it forever, it's not tied to your GOG account and there is no online requirement or licence check.
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Anti-cheat drivers aren't DRM. I mean sometimes, I'm sure game makers roll DRM and anti-cheat into one module, but the functions are distinct. Anti-cheat plugs into the kernal and makes sure nothing is driving the mouse except the mouse driver (to detect aim bots), nothing is driving the display except a recognized display driver (to detect x-ray wall hacks), stuff like that.
Anti-cheat is annoying, because it might pop a false positive if you are running some odd-ball configuration, but it's not malicious
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Seems like the kind of thing that Microsoft should create an API for, a bit like how Google has an API in Android that lets an app verify that the device is not rooted or otherwise compromised.
If I wanted to play a game with that kind of anti-cheat I'd probably look at getting it on console, or having a dedicated gaming machine. But most likely I'd just not play it.
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If I wanted to play a game with that kind of anti-cheat I'd probably look at getting it on console, or having a dedicated gaming machine. But most likely I'd just not play it.
Yeah, that is often the play. Unfortunately, if you are into competitive online mutiplayer games, there is not much alternative. Games that don't include these measures quickly degenerate into cesspools of nothing but cheaters and people stop buying/playing them, and some games like MOBAs and RTSs aren't really playable on console as they virtually require mouse and keyboard.
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Would love to keep buying from GOG, but the taxes part of their billing is screwed up, insisting I live somewhere i don't, and part of the purchase process is swearing that I will take responsibility for their mistakes. I asked tech support, got a big shrug and "what if you went to a friend's house and bought the game using their account?"
Would be nice to let users filter out DRM games (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't buy games with Denuvo. Would be nice if I could set something so I don't see such games in the listings. At all.