Epic Games has confirmed that Fortnite is coming to Linux, and the launcher it will arrive through is available to try in preview on Ubuntu – a vibe-coded wonder that’s been royally roasted on the internet.
The gaming company has also announced a rebuilt version of its anti-cheat tech for Linux, which will be required to run Fortnite to Linux. Easy Anti-Cheat v2‘s stricter system requirements include a signed kernel and TPM 2.0.
Easy Anti-Cheat has been available on Linux for a while, including for PC games running via Proton. Not all games developers trust or use it as it’s not considered as robust or tamper-proof as the Windows version. V2 is more stringent.
Now, the nuances of anti-cheat is not something I can dive into (as I am not a gamer). Epic has listed the system requirements its new version needs to work (and thus any games that rely on it), and rationale on why.
Playing a protected game (one that needs uses anti-cheat) will require running a Linux kernel ‘signed with a well-known key’ (which Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux kernel is). Kernel modules added in, like NVIDIA GPU drivers, mist also be signed by a reputable outfit.
Those aren’t the only hurdles.
A Linux gaming rig must have Secure Boot turned on and IOMMU support enabled in its BIOS; a TPM 2.0 must be present; the kernel BPF LSM kernel modules have to be loaded, and kexec must be disabled. Plus… Well, a fair bit that sounds effort-y.
Epic is reaching out to Linux distros and asking Linux distros to reach out to it to get them on board with EAC v2’s requirements. Notably, the Steam Deck does not support the required features right now. Epic says its working with Valve.
Clearly aware of the palaver, and perhaps the buy-in needed, Epic suggests gamers may wish to maintain their own separate bootloader entry with the mandated kernel features and security bits enabled, and boot from this to play a protected game.
Epic’s vibe-coded new launcher
Epic hasn’t said, thus far, when to expect Fortnite’s Linux release, but it’ll be available through a new version of the Epic Games Launcher, which is now in preview.
Noting that “programming is hard”, Epic chose to vibe-code its new games launcher and is quite proud of the fact. It’s even boosting about how much faster it is than Valve’s Steam client.
The initial preview is light on features, say Epic, which does say there is a shopping cart, so poking fun at Valve’s Steam client is not a fair comparison (or a well-spirited one if Fornite for Linux will run via Proton, as some suggest it will).
Reactions to Epic’s proudly vibe-coded launcher have not been kind. Some Linux users trying it have already reported a fleet of issues, including being unable to download the Unreal Engine in-app.
If you want to try it out on Ubuntu and see if the derision is earned, it’s in preview with an AppImage build for Linux.
Download the AppImage from Epic Games, mark it executable, then double-click to open. Sign in with a valid Epic account and your library and cloud saves should appear. It’s in preview, so don’t expect miracles, but do expect it to improve.
Well, maybe.
If you’re an Epic gamer (I’m sorry) running Linux I’d love to know what you think of the new launcher, and whether the roasting its received on Reddit and X to date is deserved…