Steam now requires devs to notify players if game uses kernel-level anti-cheat software

Valve has introduced new changes to Steam store pages. The new tool will help users see information about anti-cheat services used in games.

• Game developers will have a new section in the Edit section to list any anti-cheat software used in their games, according to a new Steamworks blog post.
• This field is mandatory for any new game that utilizes a kernel-level anti-cheat system. Valve will also contact developers whose existing products fall into this category.
• Although providing this information for titles with client or server-based anti-cheat is optional, the company still believes that “any game that makes use of anti-cheat technology would benefit from letting players know.”

• To make things easier for developers, Steam now has a pre-made list of the most common anti-cheat providers, but there is an “other” field for custom solutions.
• There will also be two additional checkboxes to check if an anti-cheat integration modifies files at the kernel level and if an anti-cheat software leaves any files so that users know whether they need to clean up files upon uninstall.

“We’ve heard from more and more developers recently that they’re looking for the right way to share anti-cheat information about their game with players,” Valve noted. “At the same time, players have been requesting more transparency around the anti-cheat services used in games, as well as the existence of any additional software that will be installed within the game.”