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Facepalm: Rockstar Games has seemingly broken compatibility between Grand Theft Auto V and Valve's Steam Deck handheld. The revelation comes courtesy of a recent update to Valve's listing for the game, which now labels GTA V as "unsupported" due to issues with its online multiplayer mode.
GTA V has consistently ranked among the top 20 most-played games on the Steam Deck for at least two years, and it even remained in the top 10 list this week. However, the game's online mode has long been plagued by cheaters. To address the issue, Rockstar Games implemented the anti-cheat system BattlEye.
The software helps developers detect and block cheat programs, manipulation of game-protected code, and other forms of sabotage. It is widely used in other games such as ARMA, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and The Crew 2.
Unfortunately, BattlEye has also introduced an unintended side effect: locking out Steam Deck users. As a result, a new warning on the game's Steam page now lists GTA V as "unsupported."
Rockstar has seemingly shifted blame for the breakdown away from itself, claiming on its FAQ page that "Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online" and directing any questions to Valve.
However, this assertion seems questionable. The Verge reports that Valve enabled BattlEye compatibility for the Steam Deck years ago, and numerous games utilizing the anti-cheat software have transitioned without issues. The publication notes that Valve has even stated that enabling a BattlEye-protected game on the Steam Deck is as simple as sending an email.
Worse, Rockstar remains tight-lipped about its reasons for not following the established protocol, leaving gamers perplexed.
Thankfully, while GTA V's multiplayer mode is inaccessible, the single-player mode is still available. It might be more accurate to list GTA V as "partially playable" rather than labeling it as "unsupported," as this better conveys that the game is not entirely broken.
"Steam Deck does not support BattlEye for GTA Online. You will be able to play GTA V Story Mode but unable to play GTA Online," reads Rockstar's FAQ.
The caveat is that Rockstar hasn't provided the same evolving content pipeline for Story Mode as it has for GTA Online over the years. Thus, Deck owners will be limited to replaying the same decade-old narrative.
Image credit: Richardgbg06