Players fed up with cheaters in their Rocket League ranked matches can rejoice, as developers Psyonix are adding Easy Anti-Cheat to the game. The addition of the popular anti-cheat software does raise some questions from players, however, especially those worried about how it may affect Linux compatibility and mod support. Psyonix has already responded to a few of these concerns.

Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) is coming to the game during Season 22. The current season (Season 21) is due to end on March 11, though we already know that the new EAC implementation won’t be ready until April; no specific date has been given just yet. Psynoix promises Linux & Steam Deck will still be supported, and popular mod features are being integrated into the game.

Easy Anti-Cheat will support Linux in Rocket League

The developers claim Linux operating systems (including the Steam Deck’s native SteamOS) “will still be supported with Easy Anti-Cheat on” when running through “apps like Proton”. This is the compatibility layer developed by Valve that lets Windows games run on Linux and has been a huge reason why the Steam Deck is so successful.

The bad news is that Psyonix confirms mods will not run with EAC enabled, but it can be toggled off so you can play with mods in offline gamemodes. So, training scenarios and other offline tools won’t be affected. Toggling EAC on/off requires a game restart.

Players on PC will have the option to launch Rocket League with Easy Anti-Cheat on or off. It will need to be enabled to queue for online matches, private matches, and tournaments. Mods will not run when it’s enabled.

When Easy Anti-Cheat is turned off, you can run mods while playing offline matches, training, LAN matches, and viewing Replays while using custom video editing tools. Community content like Steam Workshop maps is playable with or without Easy Anti-Cheat enabled, but you’ll want it off if you run mods on top of the content.

Psyonix, via X

To help soften the blow of a lack of online support for mods like “Rocket League trainer” BakkesMod, Psyonix is implementing a few useful features found in the BakkePlugins library directly into the game. This includes the ability to display MMR in-game (like the popular IngameRank mod, which has over 2 million downloads), custom training options, and a flip reset indicator. Anyone who tries to load BakkesMod with EAC mod enabled won’t be banned either; a developer’s response on Reddit confirms that players will just be met with an error message with no penalty.

Overall, this seems like a positive change for the community and a much-needed way of combating cheaters and bots. The developers say EAC “elevates our ability to detect and ban cheaters in real time, and is part of a broader effort that includes additional bot detection methods, and DDoS attack prevention”.

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Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.