Highguard requires Secure Boot and Easy Anti-Cheat to run, leaving Linux and kernel-conscious gamers out in the cold
If you happened to have caught the Game Awards trailer for it, Highguard, an upcoming free-to-play hero shooter from ex-developers of Apex Legends and Titanfall, launches next week. You will need to enable Secure Boot if you plan on playing through.
As we've spotted on the Highguard Steam page, the game needs Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, and Easy Anti-Cheat to run. If you're wondering why that's a big deal, it's not to most gamers. If you have a Windows 11 PC with relatively new hardware, you should be able to enable all with little problem.
However, Secure Boot, as shown with the launch of Battlefield 6, tends to draw criticism. That's for three major reasons. The first is that Secure Boot is a kernel-level security measure, and anti-cheat software that uses it will effectively get privileged access to the inner sanctuary of your PC.
Secondly, older machines may not support Secure Boot or might not even have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), which is used to store cryptographic keys. This means older machines are left in the dust.
However, one of the biggest complaints levied at Secure Boot is on behalf of Linux gamers. While Linux does have something called Secure Boot, that's not what game devs are tapping into. They want Windows. There are ways to get around it with virtual machines or streaming, but essentially, there's no casual route to playing these games without Windows.
However, Secure Boot and kernel-level anti-cheats are reportedly an effective way of dealing with cheaters, especially when the cost of entry to a free-to-play game is so low. If someone gets banned from playing Highguard, they simply need to use a different Steam account (and possibly use a VPN) to get around it.
Back in 2022, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney responded to criticism of Easy Anti-Cheat in Fortnite, saying, "We don’t have confidence that we’d be able to combat cheating at scale under a wide array of kernel configurations including custom ones."
Still, Highguard seems to be fighting an uphill battle with the amount of distaste it has received since its announcement. Linux gamers only represent a fairly small percentage of total gamers, if Valve's Hardware Survey is accurate, yet Highguard will need all the players it can get if it wants a strong launch.
If you plan on playing Highguard yourself and have a Windows rig, remember to enable TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot for the big day.