Massive FPS game The Finals playable on Steam Deck and Linux in latest update — developer mum on surprise compatibility

Easy Anti Cheat is the bane of the existence of many Linux gamers, leaving handheld gamers with Windows devices like the Asus ROG Ally (curr $599.99 on Best Buy) as their only option for many online multiplayer games. This was true for The Finals, as well — at least until recently. After a recent update, The Finals unexpectedly started to work vis Steam's Proton compatibility layer.

According to reports by GamingOnLinux and fans on Protondb, The Finals runs on Linux with near-native performance after only mild tweaks — PROTON_ENABLE_NVAPI=1 %command% — to the game's launch options to get DLSS working. GamingOnLinux did report some issues with voice chat and some in-game settings, though, so mileage may vary on what's available.

Despite the largely positive reception to the news, Linux gamers are somewhat hesitant to play the game via Linux, since the developer hasn't said anything about explicitly supporting Linux. The lack of any Linux compatibility announcement isn't necessarily a bad sign, but there have been instances in the past where playing online games with strict anti-cheat on Linux has resulted in account bans for players that claim they didn't cheat.

We have reached out to Embark Studios for comment about whether or not it is safe for Linux gamers to play The Finals without risk of being banned, but we have not heard back as of publishing.