Steam now requires devs to tell players they’re playing games with kernel-level anti-cheat tools

Valve has announced that it’s changing anti-cheat disclaimers on Steam and making it mandatory that developers clearly state whether they’re using kernel-level anti-cheat tools.

In the absolute simplest terms, a kernel-level driver is a part of a game’s software that connects directly to your PC to scan for certain data or information that might indicate that you’ve been cheating. Basically, and I mean very basically, it’s a standalone client that boots up every time you start up your PC and operates at the deepest level of your operating system’s authorization to scan your actual system for cheating software instead of a game’s sever. And if that sounds a little invasive, well, if you’re playing games like Call of Duty: Warzone, Fortnite, and Apex Legends, you’ve been dealing with kernel-level anti-cheat for a while now.