Battlefield 6 Beta vs. Valorant Vanguard

Battlefield 6 Beta Won’t Run with Valorant Vanguard Active

EA’s upcoming Battlefield 6 open beta is just around the corner, running from August 14 to 17. Players will get access to the brand-new Empire State map, featuring intense close-quarters combat alongside fresh Rush and Squad Deathmatch modes. With free rewards also on the table, the event is expected to draw thousands of participants eager to test the game before launch.

But there’s one major catch: if you have Valorant installed, Battlefield 6 may refuse to start altogether. This unexpected issue stems from Riot’s anti-cheat system, Vanguard, which conflicts directly with Battlefield’s own protection software.

Why Valorant Blocks Battlefield 6

Reports first surfaced during the initial open beta when a Reddit user shared an error message from Battlefield 6 demanding they uninstall Valorant due to a “security violation.” The post quickly gained traction, sparking debates about the increasingly aggressive role of anti-cheat technology in modern games.

At the center of the problem is Riot Vanguard, Valorant’s kernel-level anti-cheat. Unlike many systems that activate only when you launch a game, Vanguard boots up with Windows itself. This design allows Riot to monitor system processes at the deepest level, catching cheats before they have a chance to run. While this provides a significant boost to Riot’s security efforts, it also creates compatibility nightmares with other games that use similar low-level monitoring.

How Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat Works

To understand the conflict, it helps to know how these programs operate. Most cheats in online shooters work by reading or writing to a game’s memory, turning hidden data—like enemy locations—into actionable knowledge. Kernel-level anti-cheat counters this by running at the same privilege level as Windows, ensuring no unauthorized program can interfere.

Vanguard takes things even further. It creates “guarded regions” within a game’s memory that only trusted processes can access. Any unauthorized thread that tries to peek inside receives a fault, essentially making that memory invisible. To enforce this, Vanguard hooks directly into the operating system’s low-level management, something very few commercial programs do.

This invasive approach has earned Vanguard both praise and criticism. On one hand, it provides Riot with strong tools for boosting competitive integrity in Valorant, helping players climb the rank ladder without worrying about rampant cheating. On the other hand, it leaves little room for coexistence with other kernel-level anti-cheat systems, like the one used by Battlefield 6.

A Turf War in the Kernel

When Battlefield 6 attempts to run with Vanguard already active, the two systems clash. Both try to assert control over the same kernel hooks, and neither is designed to share. The result is a standoff: Battlefield 6 won’t launch until Vanguard is disabled.

Importantly, this doesn’t mean players need to uninstall Valorant permanently. Instead, the workaround is to stop Vanguard before launching Battlefield 6, which requires a reboot. Unfortunately, the current error message doesn’t explain this, leaving some players confused or even uninstalling Riot’s shooter unnecessarily.

How to Fix Vanguard Blocking Battlefield 6 Beta

For Battlefield fans, this is more of an inconvenience than a permanent roadblock. Disabling Vanguard before joining the open beta should be enough to avoid issues. Still, the situation highlights a growing challenge in modern PC gaming: anti-cheat systems are becoming so aggressive that they’re starting to interfere with one another.

For Valorant players, the incident is another reminder of just how deep Vanguard integrates into your system. Riot’s decision to operate at the kernel level was made to protect competitive integrity, ensuring that rank progression feels fair and free of cheaters. Yet this same design can create barriers for anyone hoping to jump between games that rely on similarly powerful security systems.

Looking Ahead

As more major titles adopt advanced anti-cheat measures, clashes like this could become more common. For now, EA and Riot haven’t announced any long-term solution to make their systems compatible. Until then, players eager to test Battlefield 6 will need to remember to disable Vanguard before launching the beta.

This situation also sparks broader questions: are these invasive anti-cheats the right path for the industry? While they undeniably help in boosting fairness and protecting the competitive ecosystem, they also risk making PC gaming more fragmented than ever.

One thing is clear: both Battlefield 6 and Valorant are shaping the future of online shooters. Whether it’s through new maps, modes, or debates about system-level security, these games continue to define the conversation around competitive gaming in 2025.

 

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