Nine years after its initial release, Rockstar has added the third-party anti-cheat software BattlEye to the PC version of GTA V, and it's been a long time coming. The addition of a PC anti-cheat was added as part of a larger title update to celebrate the game's eleven-year anniversary and remind us that the passage of time is inevitable.
BattlEye is a pretty common anti-cheat software found in other multiplayer games like Destiny 2 and Fortnite. The software can ban users on a hardware level if they are caught using mods or cheats extensively, meaning if you get caught cheating in GTA Online, your computer will no longer be able to play the game.
If you don't play GTA Online, Rockstar has added the option to disable BattlEye for Story Mode, making it a bit easier for folks to ignore dealing with a new program running on their computer.
However, players are reporting a new issue where GTA Online is no longer running on their Steam Deck. While many games with the BattlEye anti-cheat are playable on Steam Deck thanks to the Proton Compatibility tool, GTA Online's newest update doesn't allow that. So Steam Deck players are out of luck unless Rockstar issues a patch to enable it.
PC Players Must Now Install BattlEye Anticheat to Play Online. Steam Deck and Linux Users are Locked Out from r/gtaonline
GTA Online has been riddled with cheaters since the game's early years, creating new and inventive ways to make everyone miserable. Back in 2022, cheaters were using an exploit to spam invite random players causing their games to slow down and block out the Sparrow helicopter's ability to spawn. While another exploit forced players to spectate other people in their session, taking control away from the player.
We're hopeful that this mitigates the majority of exploits that have plagued GTA Online's public lobbies for years, but will keep an eye on how this all pans out.
If you're looking for even more, check out our complete guide to GTA V
