You have to pay for everything. Support for the BattlEye anti-cheat, which was added yesterday to the PC version of GTA Online with the Rockstar Games Launcher update, turned out to have a catch – the mode stopped working on the Steam Deck.
Image source: Rockstar Games
Without enabling BattlEye, it is now impossible to launch GTA Online (unlike the story mode of GTA V), and Valve’s portable PC does not currently have support for this anti-cheat in the project from Rockstar Games.
According to an entry on Rockstar’s support site, GTA V and GTA Online are not officially fully compatible with Steam Deck, so any technical questions regarding this should be directed to Valve.
Official GTA V Steam Deck Compatibility Status (Image Source: Steam)
Users have accused Rockstar Games of deceit. BattlEye has long been able to work with Linux-based devices like the Steam Deck – if only there was a desire. Valve talked about this back in the fall of 2021.
«Developers just need to contact the BattlEye team to have the Proton anti-cheat work in their game. Apart from this request, nothing is required from the developers,” Valve said at the time.
Image source: Rockstar Games
Despite limited compatibility, GTA V is one of the most popular games on the Steam Deck. The crime thriller is a regular on the chart of the most popular projects on a portable PC, opened in June.
BattlEye was supposed to make it more difficult for unscrupulous users to ruin the lives of honest GTA Online players, but in the end it turned out to be a headache for the owners of the project on the Steam Deck.