EA Reportedly Bans Linux Players From Battlefield V for 'Cheating'

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WINE down.

Battlefield V
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Electronic Arts hasn't officially released Battlefield V on Linux, but that hasn't stopped intrepid gamers from using a combination of WINE and DXVK to play the game, platform restrictions be damned. It seems EA isn't too keen on that workaround: HotHardware reported Sunday that numerous DXVC users claim to have been permanently banned by Battlefield V's anti-cheat software in recent weeks.

Linux users have long relied on WINE to run Windows programs, including games, that don't natively support the open source operating system. DXVK's developers described it as a "Vulkan-based translation layer for Direct3D 9/10/11 which allows running 3D applications on Linux using Wine" on the project's GitHub repository. Linux users relied on both of those projects to play Battlefield V on their systems.

Some people also relied on a tool called Lutris that's supposed to get titles "from GOG, Steam, Battle.net, Origin, Uplay and many other sources running on any Linux powered gaming machine." In December, numerous Lutris users contributed to a thread on the utility's forums claiming they were banned from Battlefield V for cheating even though they weren't actually seeking any in-game advantages.

Those claims should be taken with a bit of skepticism. It's possible that some of these Lutris users were  cheating, for example, and that's assuming they were actually banned in the first place. We've reached out to EA to seek confirmation of these claims and, they're true, receive an explanation for this decision. We'll update this post if and when the company responds to our request for comment.

Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bigdragon
    Using an unsupported OS and related software isn't cheating. This is likely a situation where the gamers are more tech savvy than the developers. EA/DICE just wants to take the cheap and easy route by deciding an unfamiliar system not controlled by Microsoft is too scary.
    Reply
  • rubix_1011
    Unfortunately, as the owner of the IP, they get to set their own reasons as to what they support and why, even if that is completely illogical. I would agree that the resourcefulness of some users might have over-extended EA/DICE on their ability to understand, evaluate and prevent 'cheating' simply because they weren't prepared to handle users with the knowledge to run the game on something outside of Windows.

    However - if these 'unsupported' OS configurations are going to be open to bans, this needs to be written into the user acceptance agreement so there is no confusion. (Which they might be, I do not know)
    Reply
  • husker
    I'm no expert on the subject, but it seems to me that EA should not have to invest time and money to validate that OS emulation for linux users isn't somehow an opportunity to bypass anti-cheating software. If users are not following the rules (i.e., use a supported OS) then as rule breakers they are cheating. Not all cheating results in an advantage to the cheater, but EA has an obligation to ensure the integrity of their game.
    Reply
  • mossberg
    husker said:
    Not all cheating results in an advantage to the cheater, but EA has an obligation to ensure the integrity of their game.

    Why, when EA has none of their own? They are just as bad, if not worse, than Activision.
    Reply
  • Crasher86
    admin said:
    Electronic Arts reportedly banned Linux players from "Battlefield V" for cheating...even though they weren't.

    EA Reportedly Bans Linux Players From Battlefield V for 'Cheating' : Read more
    HotHardware news (which this NEws is based on):
    "...a number of gamers over on the Lutris Forum reported ..."
    So 25 days ago: 1 Guy said EA banned him because he is a Linux user. 2 Guys said they got a ban too.

    What are the other Linuxusers doing? Gaming

    QUITE a big number in this 25 days old FAKENEWS. 3 guys are the most amount of Linuxgamers i have ever heared of in BFV. You know in april 2019 there was a Linuxuser who said exact the same things. (View: https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/bax4nt/my_battlefield_account_got_banned_ea_refuses_to/) .

    In the End they were cheaters, forgetting to close a cheating tool for another game or using some autobot-makros (when the same was said about blizzard banning linux gamers).
    Reply
  • TerryLaze
    bigdragon said:
    Using an unsupported OS and related software isn't cheating. This is likely a situation where the gamers are more tech savvy than the developers. EA/DICE just wants to take the cheap and easy route by deciding an unfamiliar system not controlled by Microsoft is too scary.
    That's also not why they are being banned,the article says that they are using DXVK which "is a set of replacement dll files that translate from DirectX 11 to Vulkan. "
    Messing with the dlls a game uses is one of the mayor ways to cheat.
    Reply