I'm sure there are game devs that try to install rootkits for no good reason, but preventing cheating in multiplayer competitions can unfortunately be a legitimate reason to ask "Hey $customer, I need to take full control of your machine, and it can't be a VM".
You basically have three options:
- Cross your fingers and pray that the game company isn't going to do anything malicious to your machine
- Keep your gaming PC completely isolated from your private data
- Accept that you won't be able to play some competitive games, or the competitive modes of some games (eg. the default CounterStrike multiplayer runs with usermode anticheat, but competitive matchmakers like FaceIt require you to install a kernel-level anticheat)
Yes, it is an unfortunate reality. I was very pleased to discover that Valve's newly released Counter Strike 2 did not require the invasive type of anti-cheat software. On the other hand, it also seemed like some players I encountered were making shots that were too accurate for a human player. Maybe CS2 players are just that good...
My wish is that multiplayer games would have the option to play on servers with anti-cheat and servers without anti-cheat. If my memory serves correctly, that is kind of how Microsoft's Halo: Master Chief Collection is, at least when played on the Steam Deck. While I don't like the entire experience (e.g., having to use a MS account), at least optional anti-cheat is a plus.
FWIW I typically choose option 2 - keeping the gaming PC separate from anything important.
You basically have three options:
- Cross your fingers and pray that the game company isn't going to do anything malicious to your machine
- Keep your gaming PC completely isolated from your private data
- Accept that you won't be able to play some competitive games, or the competitive modes of some games (eg. the default CounterStrike multiplayer runs with usermode anticheat, but competitive matchmakers like FaceIt require you to install a kernel-level anticheat)