Steam is seeing a surge of negative reviews for GTA Online. Linux users are voicing their frustration over being locked out.
Grand Theft Auto on Steam just saw an uptick of negative reviews after Rockstar Games recently released a new update that added BattlEye to the game. The kernel-level anti-cheat has been effective, but at the cost of losing a chunk of the playerbase who aren't cheaters, and who are now making their voices heard.
One of the more popular — among publishers, that is — anti-cheat tools used in online multiplayer titles, BattlEye is the latest attempt by Rockstar to curb cheating in Grand Theft Auto Online. It has worked to some effect so far. However, it has come at the expense of Linux users (and thus, Steam Deck users) who have no longer been able to access GTA Online since the update dropped.
In response to the inability to play GTA Online, Linux and Steam Deck users—Valve's portable handheld PC runs SteamOS 3.0, which is a Linux-based operating system—have taken to Steam to let Rockstar know their grievances with good old review bombing.
The result is a marked increase in negative reviews of GTA Online on Steam. Although this isn't enough for GTA 5's "generally positive" rating to drop down to "mixed" on Steam nearly a week into the update, it is alarming, especially with Grand Theft Auto 6 coming out next year.
Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick made it clear earlier this year that the company doesn't take review bombing lightly, saying they affect game sales. GTA 6 might have broken records with its debut trailer, but given the expectations, Take-Two and Rockstar can't afford the negative publicity.
It's clear Linux and Steam Deck users don't make up enough of GTA 5 players to make a sizable dent in sales — otherwise, we'd have seen more negative reviews. That said, their opinions will still affect public perception.
If word of mouth spreads that Rockstar and Take-Two won't hesitate to kick certain players onto the curb, it won't take long for the rest of the video game industry to run with the story, resulting in unwanted backlash. "How long until they kick us out?" would be a question users on other platforms could ask.
This isn't the first time that Rockstar has had to navigate through an onslaught of negative reviews on GTA 5. Many years ago, it had to deal with the fallout of the cease and desist letter it filed against the popular modding tool, OpenIV.
Ironically, Rockstar has since softened its stance on modding. It has perhaps seen the importance of modding and RP in the continued and ongoing success of GTA 5 and Online. It has even gone as far as to acquire one of the largest groups in the GTA Online RP scene.
As for the current predicament faced by Linux users with GTA Online, it isn't the end yet. After some back and forth where Rockstar and Valve kept on pointing fingers at each other, the latest update suggests that the two companies realized that they should probably work together to solve this problem instead.
If Rockstar can implement BattlEye without affecting any of the GTA 5 playerbase, it will be a huge win ahead of the release of GTA 6's second trailer, which may or may not happen anytime soon.
In other news, Rockstar is working on an unconfirmed PC port of GTA 5 Expanded and Enhanced, and the PC port of GTA 6 is also in development. Finally, despite the rumors, Take-Two confirms that GTA 6 is still on track for a 2025 release and it may have already been revealed to select streamers over the weekend.
