- Epic Video games has introduced a partnership with Qualcomm
- It’ll see Straightforward Anti-Cheat grow to be accessible for Home windows on ARM
- In addition to Fortnite, it means the potential for a whole lot of video games to be playable
Epic Video games has introduced a brand new partnership with Qualcomm to assist Straightforward Anti-Cheat for its Arm-based Snapdragon processors. This implies Fortnite will lastly be accessible on Copilot+ PC laptops using the likes of the Snapdragon X household for the primary time (that are a few of the finest laptops we have just lately examined).
In a press launch, Epic Video games defined that it’s working with Qualcomm Applied sciences to carry Epic On-line Service’s Anti-Cheat over to Home windows on Arm, which is utilized by laptops like the wonderful Floor Laptop computer. This resolution was as a result of how Home windows 11 on Arm has “reworked the PC panorama” with the corporate’s processors representing a “quickly rising phase of the PC gaming market”.
There are some distinct architectural variations between x64 (64-bit) and Arm, with the latter being far much less suitable with the vast majority of software program, particularly gaming. Home windows on Arm has come a good distance previously 12 months, however there’s nonetheless loads to enhance. “Because of the manner anti-cheat software program works with x64 options, further tooling is required for compatibility with these gadgets”.
Crucially, the testing and implementation of Straightforward Anti-Cheat on Arm may open the door for the numerous different video games that make the most of the software program for on-line play, with compatibility spreading throughout the Epic Video games Retailer (and past). “Along with releasing Home windows on Snapdragon anti-cheat assist for Fortnite, we are going to carry this assist to builders by way of an Epic On-line Providers SDK launch”.
You are unable to put in Fortnite with out Straightforward Anti-Cheat enabled, as the sport is not going to launch till EAC is situated within the set up listing. Straightforward Anti-Cheat can be accessible in almost 500 video games, together with Apex Legends, Rust, iRacing, and Fall Guys, in addition to more moderen releases like Elden Ring. No timeframe has been provided for when the Epic On-line Providers SDK will roll out, nevertheless, you will not be ready lengthy to lastly expertise the favored battle royale sport on ultrabook AI-powered {hardware}.
A step ahead for accessible gaming on Arm
It has been an thrilling time for laptops with the widespread implementation of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processors inside a few of the finest laptops over the past 12 months or so.
We have praised lots of the productiveness machines powered by the likes of the Snapdragon X Elite SoC, together with the wonderful Dell XPS 13 9350 (2025) and the Asus Vivobook S 15 Copilot+ simply to call a number of. Whereas compatibility continues to be not on par with the normal Home windows x86 expertise, the snappiness of efficiency (and main battery lives) have made them a viable possibility for work.
Now, with the information that Epic Video games is engaged on bringing Straightforward Anti-Cheat software program to carry (arguably) the most important sport on the planet to Arm, we may see this as a breakthrough for gaming on ultrabooks.
Final 12 months, we had been blown away by the Snapdragon X Elite’s gaming capabilities, which included working Baldur’s Gate 3 in 4K. Whereas the Qualcomm Adreno GPU baked onto the chip is not going to rival the discrete graphics present in a few of the finest gaming laptops, there is definitely potential for a playable future on the {hardware}, and it is particularly exicting as trendy MacBooks with M-series chips additionally use Arm-based structure.
A few of the hottest PC video games use Straightforward Anti-Cheat as customary, so Epic Video games could possibly be taking a large step ahead for accessibility, particularly if the titles may be optimized for Qualcomm’s {hardware}.
As we have seen with the rise of the Steam Deck, Asus ROG Ally X, and different handheld gaming PCs, builders have began catering in the direction of built-in graphics options by way of the likes of the AMD Z1 and Z2 chips. Whereas these are x86 gadgets, we may see future handhelds utilizing Arm with a wider availability of video games if extra software program may be adopted over time.