Can You Finally Play Hunt: Showdown on Linux? SteamDB Shows Silent EAC Update

Update: Gaming On Linux's Liam Dawe has since tested Hunt: Showdown on both his Steam Deck and desktop successfully.

As amazing of a device the Steam Deck has proven to be, one thorn in every Deck and Linux user has been Anti-Cheat and developers' refusal to open their games to supporting Linux. Well it seems we've got a good sign today that one developer has seen the light (or more accurately the over 1 million sales of the Steam Deck) and have added the necessary Easy Anti-Cheat files to provide Linux support for their game. Recently SteamDB reported Crytek's battleroyale/monster hunting multiplayer game Hunt: Showdown added EAC files that should enable Linux compatibility. It's early days but there are already a few Linux users have been confirming to play some matches.

This is a nice surprise as a year ago Crytek remained tight-lipped when asked whether they would update their game to support the upcoming Steam Deck. Now of course without an official statement from Crytek we could see support fluctuate. Recently released patch notes for the game made no mention of Steam Deck/Linux compatiblity nor did anyone in the comments of that post. Still, this is encouraging to see and hopefully this means we get to permanently add another mainstream multiplayer game to the Steam Deck's library. If you're interested in learning a bit more about Hunt: Showdown, SkillUp has a deep review along with a getting started video to help ease you into the game.

Developer support was one of the biggest concerns of Steam Deck detractors prior to the console's launch, but a year in the not-so-little handheld continues to show there's a growing interest in the gaming PC handheld space, especially one as open as the Steam Deck. It makes me wonder if by next year we'll see lack of Steam Deck support become a black mark on a game, like lack of Steam Cloud save support is now.

The Steam Deck is eroding away the perception of Linux gamers being too tiny of a niche to cater for. Slowly it seems like we're seeing the big players put more work into support the Steam Deck like PlayStation's PC ports and Microsoft with Halo Infinite. We're still waiting for some of the biggest games to get with the Linux program like Destiny 2, which for a live-service game is baffling. Hours of player engagement is exactly what live-service games crave and the Steam Deck makes it quicker and easier to hop into a game compared to a full desktop rig or home game console.

So what do you think? Have you been waiting for Hunt: Showdown to come to Steam Deck? Are you going to try this out? Any other games you're waiting on to get Linux compatibility? Let us know in the comments below!