Steam now requires developers tell users when their games contain kernel mode anticheat

Kernel mode software anticheat is a controversial topic. Many players believe that it negatively impacts the performance of their games and could compromise the security of their system. But many players also want to do something about all the unscrupulous users, and kernel-level anticheat software is the most effective method to keep things clean. It's a conundrum, as they say.

Steam's new addition won't change anything, but it'll make it easier for people who are affected to understand what's happening and act accordingly. A field on the store pages of Steam will allow developers to clearly state what type of anticheat software they're using. In the case of kernel mode, it will require this disclosure.

Valve wrote: "We've heard more and more developers in recent months that they are looking for a way to share anticheat information with players about their game." "At the exact same time, players are requesting greater transparency about the anti-cheat software used in games and the existence of any extra software that will be included within the game."

Valve will contact developers and publishers of games that fall into this category and ask them to update their store pages.

Valve stated that games that use anti-cheat software that is client or server based, but not kernel-based, will not need to fill out this field. "But we generally believe that any game using anti-cheat would benefit from letting the players know," Valve stated.

You can see this change on the Counter-Strike 2 Steam Page, which now includes a field that indicates the presence of Valve Anti-Cheat Software:

Early response to the change has been positive, which is not surprising. (Although some comments seem to be more focused on pointing out the inherent evils in kernel mode software rather than the new notification system). Kernel mode anticheat has been a source of frustration for many years. Riot's Vanguard and Doom Eternal caused controversy in 2020 when they went live. Activision announced the Ricochet Kernel Mode Anticheat for Call of Duty in 2021. It promised that it would only work when Warzone was running. This maneuver met with limited success. EA also jumped in with the same promise. Kernel mode anticheat will not disappear, as we said earlier this year. But at least you'll be able to know when it is available.