In a recent interview, Christian Bruhl, the technical director of Battlefield 6 at Battlefield Studios, said the team will keep Secure Boot as a requirement to limit cheating. He admitted the setting is a pain, but argued it helps make matches fair and reduces kernel-level cheat risks.
Bruhl put it plainly: he wishes the team didn’t have to force Secure Boot, but that the choice came after careful discussion about how to balance accessibility and a cheat-free experience. He said the core goal was that players feel like they’re in a safe, fair environment without a bunch of cheaters.
“I’ll start by saying, man, I wish we didn’t have to turn on Secure Boot. I wish we could just play the game and nobody cheated. But actually, a couple of years ago, we had a lot of discussions, thought, and evaluation about where we wanted to balance making it easy for everyone to play and making it safe for everyone to play without cheaters. And we decided that the most important thing was for people to feel like they were playing in a safe and fair environment without a bunch of cheaters.”
Behind the Secure Boot requirement lies the use of EA’s kernel-level anti-cheat, Javelin, which operates while the game is running and provides deep system access. Javelin is already used in other recent Battlefield titles that require Secure Boot, and Bruhl said Secure Boot is an essential tool in tackling cheating, even if it adds friction for some users.
Well, that friction is real for players who dual-boot or run non-standard setups – Secure Boot is enabled by default on most modern Windows machines, but can complicate dual-booting into Linux or other advanced configurations. Bruhl acknowledged the annoyance and said the studio is trying to educate players about the requirement, while accepting the trade-off to keep multiplayer fair.
When asked whether ranked or competitive modes are the reason behind the stronger anti-cheat posture, Bruhl said the studio is still focusing on casual modes and building anti-cheat for those. Competitive modes may come later, but they aren’t the primary driver for these protections.
Is that an acceptable cost for a cleaner multiplayer experience? Some players will welcome fewer cheaters, while others will be frustrated by extra setup steps. I’m sympathetic to both sides; it’s a tough spot for developers trying to protect the game and its community.
Please share your thoughts and experiences with Secure Boot and anti-cheat in the comments below.
Find our latest quick takes and news posts on X and Bluesky.
