Do Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Games Work on Linux Through Proton?

Compatibility does not mean the anti-cheat has the same access it would have on Windows. If the game is running through Proton, a Windows kernel driver normally cannot be installed, so the Linux version of the protection is generally less deeply integrated. That said, user-space anti-cheat can still inspect the game and processes, and you are trusting both the game and Proton, so it is not a complete privacy guarantee.

Windows kernel drivers generally cannot run through Proton. Proton can translate the game itself, but it does not provide the Windows kernel access that a traditional kernel-level anti-cheat expects. Developers therefore have to enable a Linux-compatible mode, usually involving user-space anti-cheat or server-side checks, or the game simply refuses to run. Support is decided separately for each title, so a game having anti-cheat does not automatically mean it is incompatible.

Some anti-cheat systems provide a compatibility layer for Linux and Proton. In that setup, the game may run with reduced or different protections rather than loading the same kernel driver used on Windows. Helldivers 2 is one example that can work this way through Steam, but support can change if the developers alter their anti-cheat settings.

The practical answer is to check each game individually. Some competitive games work after the developer enables Proton support, while others—especially certain major shooters—block Linux entirely. Community compatibility reports can be useful, but official updates and developer decisions matter more than the presence of an anti-cheat label on the store page.