A Battlefield 6 developer has addressed the growing controversy surrounding the shooter’s new anti-cheat measures—specifically the requirement that players enable Secure Boot in their BIOS before playing. While not all PC users have to adjust their BIOS settings, those who do have expressed frustration over the inconvenience.
In a recent interview, Christian Buhl, Studio Technical Director at Ripple Effect, admitted that he “hates the cheaters” for making Secure Boot necessary in Battlefield 6.
“For some people, it is a barrier to entry for the game, and I wish that it didn’t have to be,” Buhl told ComicBook. “I hate the cheaters for making us do this, but I think it’s going to be better for everyone else to have fewer cheaters and more fairness in the game.”
Javelin: Battlefield’s New Anti-Cheat System
Earlier this year, EA confirmed that Battlefield 6 will launch with its proprietary Javelin anti-cheat system. Originally introduced as EA Anticheat in 2022, Javelin is a kernel-level anti-cheat, which means it runs with the highest system privileges to detect cheat software.
Kernel-level anti-cheats are often controversial because they operate deeply within a PC’s system, raising privacy and security concerns. Despite this, publishers argue that it’s one of the most effective ways to combat advanced cheat programs.
Why Secure Boot Is Required
Fans first discovered that Battlefield 6 required Secure Boot during the open beta earlier this month. The feature, which is enabled through a PC’s BIOS, is designed to protect systems from malicious software and unauthorized drivers.
Buhl acknowledged that Secure Boot can be a “friction point” for players but emphasized its importance for competitive fairness:
“We had deep discussions about how much we wanted to focus on friction versus fairness. The fact is, the more anti-cheat you do, the more friction you add, but hopefully the more fairness you add.”
He went on to explain that Secure Boot is a “super powerful tool” to prevent cheating in Battlefield 6, though he admitted it is not foolproof. To ease frustrations, Ripple Effect is preparing FAQs and guides to help players enable Secure Boot more easily.
A Growing Industry Standard
Battlefield 6 isn’t the only FPS requiring Secure Boot. Activision recently confirmed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will also implement both Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 as part of its anti-cheat measures. These requirements were already introduced in Warzone and Black Ops 6 via recent updates.
With both Battlefield and Call of Duty adopting stricter anti-cheat systems, it’s clear that PC gamers may need to get more comfortable with BIOS-level security features in the future.
While the Secure Boot requirement has sparked controversy, developers argue that the inconvenience is a small price to pay for a cheat-free multiplayer experience. Whether players agree remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: anti-cheat systems will only get stricter as competitive shooters evolve.