Proton and Linux are 'vectors for cheat developers,' Rust dev Alistair McFarlane says

Rust developer Facepunch Studios reveals why the sim won't show up on Linux or be compatible on Valve's Proton, saying that the platform is a hotbed for cheating. This exposes some of the thinking around Valve and whether or not big online games with anti-cheat could show up on Valve's new Steam Machine.

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Valve's Steam Machine sounds great on paper: It'll be a small form-factor PC with a discrete GPU, a zippy CPU, and plenty of RAM--all wrapped in Valve's flexible and capable SteamOS. But there's just one issue: Anti-cheat. SteamOS is based on Linux, and Valve has developed a Proton compatibility layer to ensure Windows games run on SteamOS. Devs don't like to bring their games to Linux because of the uphill battle with anti-cheat on the platform--Linux is apparently a wild west frontier for cheating.

This could be a drawback for Valve's Steam Machine and give Microsoft's reported Windows-powered Xbox PC an upper edge. While Valve has added in anti-cheat support into Proton, including Easy Anti-Cheat, it's ultimately up to developers to do the work and enable the function and get any first-party toolsets working with Proton. That being said, Valve is still working closely with high-level developers and publishers to find solutions--and to hopefully ensure that big live service games can be played on Steam Machine.

• Read more: Valve's Steam Machine can't run some of the most popular multiplayer games
• Read more: Valve working with devs to get anti-cheat on Steam Machine

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Now we have a first-hand explanation on why certain popular online games just don't support Linux.

In a recent Reddit post, the chief operating officer of hit online game Rust, Alistair McFarlane, explains why the game simply just won't arrive on Proton or Linux.

Below we've included what McFarlane said, but it's worth mentioning that not every developer or publisher may see Linux and Proton in the same way--especially the companies that make billions of dollars in revenue from live service games. Increasing the reachable market is usually a good thing for widespread online games, and Valve's new Steam Machine could make a sizable impact on gaming's new Hybrid Wars.

There are no plans to support Proton or Linux. It's a vector for cheat developers, and one that would be poorly maintained by both us and EAC due to the low user base. When we stopped support for Linux, we saw more cheat users exploiting Linux, than actual legitimate users.

When monitoring cheats for Rust, we keep a close eye on wider cheat communities across several major games. We look at what cheat developers are doing, and how other studios are responding.

From that experience, I'm very comfortable saying that if a game supports Proton or Linux, they're not serious about anti-cheat. The only exception would be if they have a fully mature, dedicated in-house anti-cheat team, even then, I'm not seeing anyone handle Proton and Linux well.

Apex Legends also dropped Proton support in October 2024 for the same reasons as we did several years ago.

Could we limit Proton to Premium servers? yes, but I think it's total bullshit asking Proton users to buy the game and then $15 worth of DLC. I'd be pissed if I were forced to do that.

When we stopped supporting Linux, users made up less than .01% of the total player base, even if that number has doubled, or tripled, it's not worth it.

I know that every time I post something like this, some Proton and Linux users call us lazy or dismissive. The reality is that fighting cheaters on one front (Windows), is already a never-ending battle. Adding more fronts multiplies that challenge without adding meaningful benefit to the wider player base.