VRChat Blocking Shadow PC
🔴 Current status: No updates yet from EAC, VRC, or ShadowPC. We believe a fix is in the works.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What is happening?
A recent update to VRChat or its anti-cheat protection (Easy Anti-Cheat) has enabled a check that blocks Virtual Machines. Since Shadow PC is a Cloud PC service that runs on Virtual Machines, the game now detects Shadow as a "VM" and refuses to launch to prevent cheating.
2. What is a "VM" (Virtual Machine)?
A Virtual Machine is essentially a "computer inside a computer." Instead of running on physical hardware sitting in your room, your Windows operating system is running inside a software simulation on a server. Cheat developers often use VMs to hide their hacking software from anti-cheat systems. Because of this, some anti-cheats (like EAC) block VMs entirely by default as a security precaution.
3. Why is Shadow PC different?
Shadow PC is a legitimate Cloud PC service, not a hacking tool. However, technically speaking, it is a Virtual Machine. Because VRChat’s anti-cheat is now strictly blocking VMs, Shadow is being caught in the crossfire. Other cloud services (like GeForce Now) may still work because they often have specific agreements or custom configurations with game developers, whereas Shadow provides a full Windows desktop.
4. Is there a fix?
Currently, no.
Users have pointed out a known workaround involving editing the "XML configuration" of the VM to hide the fact that it is a virtual machine (specifically enabling "Hyper-V passthrough" or spoofing the vendor_id). However, Shadow users cannot make this change themselves because they do not have administrator access to the server hardware. Only Shadow support can do this.
5. What does Shadow Support say?
Shadow is aware of the issue and calls it a "high priority." However, they have refused to implement the community-suggested "XML fix."
Shadow stated that hiding the VM status "can in some ways obfuscate that our PCs are virtual machines." They want to remain transparent with game developers about their service being a VM to maintain good long-term relationships. They are wary that "spoofing" a real PC might anger other developers.
6. What does VRChat Support say?
VRChat has washed their hands of the issue.
Official Stance: Tupper (Head of Community) stated that VRChat does not officially support Virtual Machines. While it might work, they cannot guarantee it. They explicitly stated they "cannot make changes to VRChat... that would fix these issues" and that the issue is "outside of our control." They advised users to contact Shadow support.
7. The Role of Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC)
While VRChat is the "Customer" who implemented the protection, Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) provides the actual "Guard." EAC acts as a kernel-level monitor. When VRChat launches, EAC downloads a specific module that scans the computer's hardware. EAC provides the tools to block VMs, but VRChat (the developer) technically controls the "security policy." VRChat could ask EAC to whitelist Shadow's specific signature, but they have chosen not to pursue this custom support.
8. Why did this happen suddenly?
While it's not exactly clear, it's likely that a recent EAC update/change implemented new definitions which included a stricter blacklist for "Microsoft Hyper-V", which is the technology Shadow runs on.
9. "Bare Metal" vs. Shadow PC (Why Shadow is blocked)
Shadow PC is not bare metal because of economics and efficiency. If Shadow gave every user a dedicated "Bare Metal" computer (where you own the whole physical box), the subscription would likely cost $100+ per month instead of ~$30. While Shadow provides a dedicated GPU for each user (using Data Center cards like the NVIDIA A10 or RTX 6000 intended for workstation usage), the underlying operating system is still running inside a Hypervisor.