Ubisoft's FOR HONOR will block SteamOS / Linux on September 10

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/09/ubisofts-for-honor-will-block-steamos-linux-on-september-10/

213 points · 34 comments · view on lemmy.world

34 Comments

Korkki@lemmy.ml · 139 pts · 1d

Fuck this 10 year old game and it's 200 linux players specifically.

joulethief@discuss.tchncs.de · 74 pts · 1d

Pff, do it. Fuck Ubisoft.

woelkchen@lemmy.world · 70 pts · 1d (8 replies)

Direct link to announcement instead of low effort spam blog: https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/game/for-honor/news-updates/4WKJhG6v6C9sbCOZkFZ6wG/ranked-faq

Relevant part:

Competitive Update

Warriors, we are happy to announce that For Honor’s competitive experience is leveling up with the launch of Ranked Dominion and the rework of Ranked Duel.

The chance to prove yourself on a global level is here!

To reinforce a fair competitive environment, the team is introducing additional player safety measures. We are removing For Honor from the Linux platform to ensure a safer environment for our players as we cannot meaningfully deploy protection on this platform. This means that For Honor will no longer be playable on Steam Deck starting September 10th. We will continue to investigate different ways to improve our anti-cheat with the possibility of reopening the platform in the future.

AllYourSmurf@lemmy.world · 106 pts · 1d (4 replies)

Their announcement rubs me the wrong way. It reads as though Linux is the problem. They’re doing Linux “to ensure a safer environment” and to “reinforce a fair competitive environment”

Implying Linux is unsafe, unfair, and anticompetitive (i.e. promotes cheating).

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 65 pts · 1d (3 replies)

They act as if any kernel level anti-cheat even stops a fraction of cheaters. Windows is just as unsafe and unfair in this regard. And it's not like the already pretty small player base is majorily on Linux.

Kangae_Hishiryo@scribe.disroot.org · 16 pts · 20h (2 replies)

Yeah, they just want to keep installing fucking viruses on our devices and since they can't, they throw a huge tantrum.

Kolanaki@pawb.social · 4 pts · 20h (1 reply)

I wonder how much more analytics they have access to with them because I doubt they have the intention of infecting customers with actual viruses and I can't think of any other reason they would have such a big boner for them other than harvesting more data to sell.

Kangae_Hishiryo@scribe.disroot.org · 8 pts · 18h

When I say "viruses" I refer to the anti-cheats themselves. Like, exactly because of what you said: they live at kernel-level (sometimes even at a lower level, like Vanguard), so they can literally see anything you do (and everything you don't), and everything you have (and everything you don't) and exfiltrate all that data without your knowledge, much less your consent, and if that's not a virus (more specifically, a rootkit), then I don't want to know what's an actual virus...

C'mon, they can even brick your PC, as it's demonstrated that for example Vanguard does:

Independent research & analysis on Riot Vanguard / kernel-level anti-cheat:

  1. Dorner & Klausner (2024) — "If It Looks Like a Rootkit and Deceives Like a Rootkit: A Critical Examination of Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Systems" (peer-reviewed, ACM ARES 2024)

https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.00500

PDF: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2408.00500

  1. gmh5225 — Reverse engineering of vgk.sys (Vanguard kernel driver): IAT hooks, fake page tables, anti-debug, MSR manipulation, syscall interception

https://gist.github.com/gmh5225/2b430b6025c8888196dd95c8557bfc6f

  1. Archie OSU (2025) — Vanguard dispatch table hook analysis

https://archie-osu.github.io/2025/04/11/vanguard-research.html

  1. Systematic Review (Dec 2025) — "A Systematic Review of Technical Defenses Against Software-Based Cheating in Online Multiplayer Games"

https://arxiv.org/html/2512.21377v1

  1. Quarkslab (2025) — CVE-2025-8061 Part 1: Lenovo LnvMSRIO.sys exposes arbitrary physical memory R/W and MSR R/W to any local process

https://blog.quarkslab.com/exploiting-lenovo-driver-cve-2025-8061.html

  1. Quarkslab (2025) — CVE-2025-8061 Part 2: Building a kernel rootkit from the same primitives

https://blog.quarkslab.com/exploiting-lenovo-driver-cve-2025-8061_part2.html

  1. zonifer.dev (2026) — gdrv3.sys: Signed Gigabyte kernel driver with 13 unauthenticated hardware access primitives (physical memory R/W, MSR R/W, kernel memcpy, raw IO)

https://zonifer.dev/posts/byovd-kernel-driver-hardware-primitives.html

  1. Check Point Research (Aug 2026) — "BTR Reforged": Microsoft's own signed BTR.sys driver weaponized as a universal kernel operation engine (no vulnerability required)

https://research.checkpoint.com/2026/btr-reforged-weaponizing-defenders-remediation-driver-as-a-kernel-operation-primitive/

  1. Shattered.io (2026) — Comprehensive overview: the DMA "bricking" incident, the four UEFI CVEs, Kunal Ganglani's statement on unaudited kernel drivers, and the Genshin Impact mhyprot2.sys BYOVD precedent

https://shattered.io/vanguard-anti-cheat-2026/

  1. Wikipedia: Kernel-level anti-cheat (references the Dorner & Klausner paper)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernel-level_anti-cheat

pHr34kY@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 21h

They should just make a separate server and ranking for linux players.

atrielienz@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 7h

So then they should be forced to pull the game from Steam. Don't sell your shit to a platform promoting Linux if you're going to exclude it's player base (any of itplayer base).

That and they should be forced to give refunds (not Valve, Ubisoft).

femtek@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 6h

Incoming refunds

zewm@lemmy.world · 51 pts · 1d (5 replies)

Reading the announcement, it sounds like a bullshit excuse. I’m pretty sure they got paid to remove Linux as a platform. Microsoft losing stranglehold on gaming market and scared.

terabyterex@lemmy.world · 24 pts · 1d (4 replies)

I promise you that's not a thing. Microsoft stopped caring about windows. Until very recently it was mostly abandoned and used as a test bed. Focus is always on azure.

Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz · 34 pts · 1d

MS is a corporate clients first type of company. They really don’t care about consumers, let alone gamers. A huge chunk of their income comes from corporate licences and cloud services.

zewm@lemmy.world · 17 pts · 1d

I know at one point they were strong arming developers to only use direct x via contract. I wouldn’t put it past them. They also just got a new head of Xbox/gaming divison which means they at least have a stake in gaming, even if a small one.

pnwpixel@programming.dev · 6 pts · 1d (1 reply)

And Clippy 2.0... I mean, Copilot

GarbadgeGoober@feddit.org · 9 pts · 1d

I was hoping they would bring back Clippy, when they announced Microsoft Copilot. At least Microslop would have had something funny and nostalgic.

But no they can't even get that right.

In Germany he had an actual name: Karl Klammer

auzy1@lemmy.world · 35 pts · 1d

Nobody is going to switch back to windows just to play their game

QuentinCallaghan@sopuli.xyz · 33 pts · 1d (1 reply)

Ubisoft just keeps shitting on its baguettes, and the Guillemot brothers think it's a good thing.

SirLeToet@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 21h

It's like the stick in the front wheel meme. Ubisoft is crashing and burning, wtf decision is this?

reksas@sopuli.xyz · 29 pts · 1d

they should fuck off from steam then, sell their shit on their own store.

Bongles@lemmy.zip · 16 pts · 1d (1 reply)

That's a shame, I liked that game.

Anyway..

BlameTheAntifa@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 1d

Reauest a refund. Steam will usually grant them for reasons like this.

Airfried@piefed.social · 16 pts · 18h

Avoid Ubisoft games. Got it! Oh, wait. I have already done so for many years.

Mwa@thelemmy.club · 14 pts · 9h

I don't like to buy from corporations that don't want to support Linux for some Shitty excuse. (and don't let you [deliberately] run apps in Wine or Proton) Deliberately am talking about something that uses deep windows integrations that It can't run, also I don't like games that deploy kernel-level "anticheat"

Lanske@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 1d

Never played this game, but f*ck off Ubisoft!

grinka@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 23h

Real shame, wanted to play this game with a friend (but still haven't played it so I probably will get a refund). Fuck Ubisoft

QueenHawlSera@piefed.social · 7 pts · 9h (1 reply)

Why?

ITGuyLevi@programming.dev · 3 pts · 6h

Ubisoft appears to have been slowly pulling out of the gaming industry, making the play that people want to play their stuff enough to buy a dedicated computer to play it.

If the game can't run outside of Windows, even an emulated Windows environment, it may as well not exist. Which sucks because I remember some people telling me this one was good like a decade ago or so...

pnwpixel@programming.dev · 6 pts · 1d

Bye Felicia

mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 16h

Ubisoft have been lazy cunts for the past several years. This post just further proves it

WereCat@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1d

I’ve just started making Ubisoft logo when I saw this post. Coincidence?

_spiffy@piefed.ca · 5 pts · 5h

That sucks. It's been a long time since I played, but I enjoyed For Honor. It would be nice if devs actually included numbers for how allowing Linux increased cheaters.

HelloRoot@lemy.lol · 5 pts · 1d

Only on September 10th? Or after that as well?