EA is forcing Secure Boot on users, and this is a big deal for anyone who plays on PC. If you want to jump into Battlefield 6, you’re going to have to make sure you have Secure Boot enabled, a move that the company says will help combat cheating and improve security.
Along with the new requirement, the company is using its Javelin Anti-Cheat software to keep players honest. Nobody likes a cheater, so it’s a good thing that EA is taking a proactive approach to keeping its game fair and balanced. However, this is a controversial move, and it’s one that could prevent some players from even playing the game. For example, some believe that the new requirement will keep Battlefield 6 from being playable on Valve’s Steam Deck or other Linux devices.
EA Has Many Precautions for New Players
Secure Boot is a feature that works to stop cheats from infiltrating the game during the Windows boot process. It also lets the Battlefield Positive Play team use its own features and security features like TPM to combat other forms of cheating. This includes things like Kernel-Level Cheats and Rootkits, Memory Manipulation and Injection, Spoofing and Hardware ID Manipulation, Virtual Machines and Emulation, and even tampering with Anti-Cheat Systems.
If you try to access Battlefield 6 without Secure Boot enabled, you’ll be prompted to turn it on before you can play. Secure Boot is available on Windows 11 and Windows 10 devices, and EA has a help article on its website to help you enable the feature if you don’t have it enabled already.
Now, while this is all a good move on paper to combat cheaters, it’s a pretty heavy-handed approach from EA, and it’s not without its issues. The biggest issue, as mentioned before, is that it may prevent some users from playing the game altogether. But another thing to keep in mind is that the Secure Boot requirement and the Javelin Anti-Cheat software are not related. EA has used Javelin in several games in the past, and all of them were playable without Secure Boot enabled.
The Javelin Anti-Cheat software is a big deal, and it’s been pretty effective in the past. It was integrated into Battlefield 2042 last year, and it had a significant impact on cheating rates. Match infection rates were reportedly cut in half, which gave non-cheaters a much better gaming experience and delivered bans to those who would ruin the game for everyone else. Javelin reportedly had a 99% accuracy rate when banning cheaters, and if non-cheaters were banned, EA overturned these enforcements after investigating contested bans.
EA Belives in Its New Anti-cheat Software
So, while the Secure Boot requirement may be a bit of a controversial step, it’s clear that EA is taking cheating seriously. They’re trying to make sure that the game is as fair as possible for everyone, and it’s a good thing that they’re not just relying on one method to do so.
It’s also nice to see that they’re willing to overturn bans if they’re found to be in error, which is a big deal for anyone who’s ever been unfairly banned from a game. This means EA is doing much better for Battlefield 6 than other companies are doing for other games.
This is a step in the right direction for EA, but it’s one that will likely cause a lot of debate in the PC gaming community. Some will be happy to see the company taking such a strong stance against cheaters, while others will be upset that they’re being forced to enable a feature that they may not want to use. Regardless of how you feel, one thing is for sure: if you want to play Battlefield 6, you’re going to have to play by EA’s rules.
Source: EA
