Epic is bringing Fortnite to Linux

Epic is operating on bringing Fortnite to Linux through its Epic Games Launcher. The new launcher is releasing in preview today, and for the archetypal period on Linux, and during Fortnite isn’t accessible there fair yet, Epic wants to create that a reality.

So far, part of the logic Fortnite hasn’t been accessible on Linux is concerns concerning cheating. While Epic’s Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) assistance does assistance Linux, Fortnite itself does not, and in February 2022, Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney said that for Fortnite, “We don’t have confidence that we’d be capable to combat cheating at measure under a broad gathering of kernel configurations.” But now, Epic says it’s preparedness to rebuild EAC for Linux, which it is calling EAC Linux v2.

“To bring Fortnite to Linux, we are rebuilding Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) and operating alongside distro maintainers on safety requirements,” Epic says in a blog post. “Once it’s operating alongside a crucial bulk of distro maintainers, we’ll bring Fortnite to Linux via the Epic Games Launcher. We’ll additionally create these improvements accessible to another developers so they can bring their games to Linux players.”

Epic plans to aviator EAC Linux v2 in Fortnite first, Epic says in a separate post focused on the anti-cheat update. The business doesn’t have a timeline for whenever the Fortnite Linux type power be available, Epic engineering director Rick Deist tells The Verge in a briefing.

Epic is additionally “investigating” making the equivalent compatible alongside Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS, Deist says, although the business does not scheme to bring Fortnite to Valve’s Steam store, according to Epic Games Store VP and GM Martin Keely. The business additionally says that the Steam Deck “does not assistance the required features for our EAC v2 solution, but we are actively talking alongside Valve and anticipation to assistance it in the future.”