"Fortnite" Steam Deck support is not coming, Epic's Tim Sweeney says, citing cheating issues with the upcoming handheld gaming console.
BRAZIL - 2021/03/30: In this photo illustration the Fortnite logo is seen on a smartphone and a pc screen.
'Fortnite' on Steam Deck?
The CEO and founder of Epic Games previously blurted out high praises for the hyped upcoming hardware of Valve, wherein he called the Steam Deck an "amazing move" for the gaming firm, as per a news story by PC Gamer.
On top of that, Epic's Sweeney further commended the handheld gaming console for its "open platform where users are free to install software of their choosing."
Nevertheless, the Epic Games boss is now saying that Fortnite would not support Valve's upcoming gaming console.
“Fortnite” on Steam Deck? Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney says battle royale game won’t support the upcoming handheld console.
It is worth noting that the Steam Deck is home to tons of gaming titles that PC gamers readily enjoy with the massive library of Steam playable in the handheld gaming hardware.
However, given that one of the most popular gaming titles on PC, "Fortnite," is not available on Steam, some might have expected it not to join the hyped Steam Deck gaming console.
'Fortnite' Steam Deck Support
This time around, Sweeney himself confirmed that "Fortnite" does not officially support the Steam Deck.
But still, given that the upcoming handheld console from Valve is basically open source, playing the Epic Games battle royale is still possible.
According to a report by WCCFTech, the Epic Games exec explained that the reason behind the absence of "Fortnite" on Valve's Steam Deck is all due to the potential of cheating using its open system.
This illustration picture shows the logo from Epic Games displayed on a laptop and a reflected Apple Logo on an iPhone in Arlington, Virginia on April 30, 2021. - In a court clash with potentially huge repercussions for the world of mobile tech, Fortnite maker Epic Games takes on Apple starting on May 3, 2021, aiming to break the grip of the iPhone maker on its online marketplace.
Sweeney went on to say on his Twitter account that "we don't have confidence that we'd be able to combat cheating at scale under a wide array of kernel configurations."
That said, the Epic founder is saying that "Fortnite" is not coming to the Steam Deck due to cheating issues that potentially come with the open system.
Epic Easy Anti-Cheat and Steam Deck
Despite that, the Epic boss further said on his Twitter that Epic is bringing its anti-cheat software to upcoming handheld gaming hardware, the Easy Anti-Cheat.
That said, WCCFTech pointed out in the same report that some folks find it odd that Sweeney is concerned with cheating issues, while the Steam Deck is using Epic's cheat system.
Some online bystanders even speculated that it might have something to do with the competition between Valve and Epic Games.
On the other hand, PC Gamer said in its report that Sweeney is likely simply protecting the popular battle royale from the possibility of exploitation in an open system with the plethora of means to customize it.
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Written by Teejay Boris
