That their anti-cheat software is able to detect this is a good thing. So many games are ruined by cheaters and bots. In this case, I don't think the intent was

That their anti-cheat software is able to detect this is a good thing. So many games are ruined by cheaters and bots. In this case, I don't think the intent was to ban Linux players; rather their anti-cheat software detects any sort of virtualization of video or input devices, because that could facilitate cheating software. It likely can't tell the difference between harmless virtualization and the injection of cheating software. I sympathize with Linux gamers, as I wish I could game from Linux. I'm typing this from Windows right now, and the only reason I ever run Windows is to play games. I don't like dual booting—and Linux runs so amazingly-well in Hyper-V—that I'm fine having Windows as my primary OS (at home, anyway). That EA's software can't tell the difference is annoying. Their PR response and lack of clarity is annoying. If, for technical reasons, they can't secure the Linux-emulated version, they should make it clear that Linux isn't supported, and offer refunds to the (surely tiny number of) people who bought it for Linux play. If the number of Linux users is large enough, they should create a proper Linux port themselves. In summary, I sympathize with their goals regarding cheat prevention. It's not like someone at EA said "I hate Linux, let's accuse them of cheating and ban their accounts!" This is a technical problem and a minor PR failure. A reasoned response is atypical from gamers who feel slighted, though, so I don't expect one.