Bungie May Ban Destiny 2 Players Who Try to Play on Steam Deck

[Peter_Brosdahl]

Image: Bungie



Valve’s new portable device is a hit, but it doesn’t seem to meet all the requirements for playing Destiny 2. Bungie has updated the help page for Destiny 2, and it includes a warning to anyone thinking of entering the shooter with a Steam Deck.



Steam Deck and Destiny 2Destiny 2 is not supported for play on the Steam Deck or on any system utilizing Steam Play’s Proton unless Windows is installed and running. Players who attempt to launch Destiny 2 on the Steam Deck through SteamOS or Proton will be unable to enter the game and will be returned to their game library after a short time.Players who are not accessing Destiny 2 through Windows and attempt to bypass the...

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[MadMummy76]

And they say we should unconditionally respect developers when they do weasel things like this.

 

[LazyGamer]

I get putting a warning in the help page - if nothing else, it serves to let players know as it stands that playing on the Steam Deck, but really on Linux period, could result in a ban.

It's just unfortunate that Bungie didn't get out in front of this with a statement along the lines of 'we're working with Valve to ensure that Destiny 2 players can play on the Steam Deck'.

On the other hand, maybe the bad publicity will help spur more companies to ensure compatibility with Proton?

 

[Brian_B]

Wonder if this has any tie-in with the recent Sony acquisition?

I get Epic not wanting to touch it - Valve is pretty stiff competition for them. Sony is less clear, and Bungie even less so.

A statement such as "Doesn't work at this time" would have been sufficient, but throwing out this statement about bans is downright hostile. Of course you'd ban anyone seeking to bypass your security - and the press release does say as much, but it also implies that just trying to sign on with a Steam Deck ~may~ constitute that.

And like @LazyGamer says, this isn't just anti-Steam Deck or anti-Valve, it's also anti-Linux

 

[LazyGamer]

I'll just say that the worry about compromised security is a very real fear for these games.

I don't see it as overly hostile (etc.), the 'help page' is mostly just stating the obvious, but louder, given the higher-profile of the Steam Deck.

 

[Ditchinit]

"Ban" is a word with emotional ties. Personally, I don't know much about Destiny, the Steam Deck, or Proton; I have no dog in any of those fights. As I read the above article (and really no deeper than that), using the word "ban" was perhaps an incendiary word choice ... or maybe I'm just assuming the most optimistic, albeit plausible, scenario.

It sounds like users will not be able to connect to the service and play using their non-Windows means of choice. If the players were truly banned by attempting to access the service using a non-Windows OS, that would imply their accounts and characters would become permanently inaccessible. I suspect that the accounts or characters will be available only when connecting to the service via Windows.

Tempest in a teapot. Or have I misunderstood the issue?

 

[Brian_B]

"Ban" is a word with emotional ties. Personally, I don't know much about Destiny, the Steam Deck, or Proton; I have no dog in any of those fights. As I read the above article (and really no deeper than that), using the word "ban" was perhaps an incendiary word choice ... or maybe I'm just assuming the most optimistic, albeit plausible, scenario.

It sounds like users will not be able to connect to the service and play using their non-Windows means of choice. If the players were truly banned by attempting to access the service using a non-Windows OS, that would imply their accounts and characters would become permanently inaccessible. I suspect that the accounts or characters will be available only when connecting to the service via Windows.

Tempest in a teapot. Or have I misunderstood the issue?

That's what I would hope.

The question is, do they consider attempting to log in via a Linux (be it Proton or any other) to be an active attempt to bypass security, or just realize that a bunch of people are curious and want to play the game and not be on Windows for whatever reason (not withstanding those folks who actually may be looking to circumvent security)

 

[LazyGamer]

The question is, do they consider attempting to log in via a Linux (be it Proton or any other) to be an active attempt to bypass security, or just realize that a bunch of people are curious and want to play the game and not be on Windows for whatever reason (not withstanding those folks who actually may be looking to circumvent security)

Bigger question is - can they tell? And if they can't, is it worth the risk to the community if they can't?

"Ban" is a word with emotional ties.

They've set a criteria for cheating - if they cannot at this time tell the difference between running on Linux and cheating, then 'ban' is the appropriate word.

 

[Brian_B]

They've set a criteria for cheating - if they cannot at this time tell the difference between running on Linux and cheating, then 'ban' is the appropriate word.

That's my issue with this, said much better than I could.

Also, to your first statement about it being a risk to the community. There's also alienating your community, and while no one likes cheaters or should suffer them, arbitrarily banning folks that haven't done anything wrong is pretty bad too. Not everyone reads the message boards for a game they play to get the message...

 

[Denpepe]

That's what I would hope.

The question is, do they consider attempting to log in via a Linux (be it Proton or any other) to be an active attempt to bypass security, or just realize that a bunch of people are curious and want to play the game and not be on Windows for whatever reason (not withstanding those folks who actually may be looking to circumvent security)

If you try to login via the steamdeck the game will autoclose and that's it if you leave it at that. If you try to bybass this you risk beeing banned, just trying to run the game as you normally would will not work but will also not result in action against your account.

 

[Grimlakin]

I think bungie got a nice big check to make a windows only game. People circumventing the OS requirement through any means to enjoy the game de values Microsofts investment in the game. If it appears bungie is supporting the game to run on a non approved non windows platform then Bungie could be sued for breach and monies paid as well as damages collected by Microsoft.

I think of has fudge all to do with 'cheating' and everything to do with Microsoft not wanting a real gaming platform competitor if they can prevent it.

 

[Uvilla]

Wonder if this has any tie-in with the recent Sony acquisition?

I get Epic not wanting to touch it - Valve is pretty stiff competition for them. Sony is less clear, and Bungie even less so.

A statement such as "Doesn't work at this time" would have been sufficient, but throwing out this statement about bans is downright hostile. Of course you'd ban anyone seeking to bypass your security - and the press release does say as much, but it also implies that just trying to sign on with a Steam Deck ~may~ constitute that.

And like @LazyGamer says, this isn't just anti-Steam Deck or anti-Valve, it's also anti-Linux

I thought Epic said they were happy with how open the Deck was. Maybe they meant one can install windows? I am hoping with time I can install multiple stores on the deck, as is, without windows

 

[Dan_D]

I've been a Destiny 2 player for quite a while now. Cheating in PvP had been rampant in Destiny 2 up until recently when it deployed the BattleEye anti-cheat stuff. It was absolutely out of hand with people teleporting, having unlimited super energy, extreme auto-fire with higher power, lower RPM weapons, unlimited ammo, flight, wallhacking, you name it.

At one point it was so egregious that you almost couldn't do your 3 weekly matches for pinnacle gear rewards without running into at least one ******* doing stuff like that. If you did manage to kill the bastard, he would simply respawn, teleport to you and kill you with his super.

After BattleEye was deployed along side cross play, the amount of cheating has dropped to almost zero. I'm sure it still happens, but it's far less obvious and less commonly encountered. I can see bypassing any security for any reason being a ban worthy offense even if its just trying to get the game to run on an unsupported platform.

Perhaps Bungie should have worded the announcement differently, but it is what it is.

 

[Peter_Brosdahl]

I've been a Destiny 2 player for quite a while now. Cheating in PvP had been rampant in Destiny 2 up until recently when it deployed the BattleEye anti-cheat stuff. It was absolutely out of hand with people teleporting, having unlimited super energy, extreme auto-fire with higher power, lower RPM weapons, unlimited ammo, flight, wallhacking, you name it.

At one point it was so egregious that you almost couldn't do your 3 weekly matches for pinnacle gear rewards without running into at least one ******* doing stuff like that. If you did manage to kill the bastard, he would simply respawn, teleport to you and kill you with his super.

After BattleEye was deployed along side cross play, the amount of cheating has dropped to almost zero. I'm sure it still happens, but it's far less obvious and less commonly encountered. I can see bypassing any security for any reason being a ban worthy offense even if its just trying to get the game to run on an unsupported platform.

Perhaps Bungie shoudl have worded the announcement differently, but it is what it is.

It's good to know that BattleEye is working as intended which also supports that Bungie should've merely worded it differently so that fans would've better understood the reasoning. The amount of reading I did on this pointed to a technical vulnerability due to the Proton application layer and it sounds like Bungie just needs to find a better solution for bridging the two. I've no clue if that's possible but I find it hard to believe that there's not some kind of solution.