Arc Raiders developer Embark has had enough of cheaters. The studio is stepping up its anti-cheating policies, and this time it’s taking no bullshit. From now on, anyone caught cheating will be immediately permabanned. No warnings, no second chances.
“Ahead of our big update on October 8,” writes the developer on the Arc Raiders blog, “I wanted to talk directly about something that has been frustrating for the community and our team: cheating.” The post lays out what the developer has implemented so far to detect and block exploits and cheaters, including third-party software and its own “in-house models built around machine-learning and other data.” There are also plans to bring in more software, including Elytra Anti-Cheat.
In the past, this led to warnings and eventually bans. Now that approach is gone. “Early on, we were overly cautious about applying permanent bans to first-time cheaters,” the developer writes. “We’ve heard the frustration from the community, and we agree that we should have handled this differently. Permanent bans are now standard for all known cheat programs and, as a matter of policy, any account caught using cheats is permanently banned. No warnings, no second chances.”
The New Ban Policy
The change is immediate. Anyone caught using a known cheat program will be permanently banned. The threshold for hardware bans has also been lowered, meaning cheaters cannot simply start a new account to keep playing. According to the developer, “we were recently able to lower the threshold at which these types of bans are applied.”
The post explains that anti-cheat systems cannot ban players in real-time. “Anti-cheat systems can’t ban a player the moment something looks suspicious,” the developer writes. “Doing so would create the risk of incorrectly banning legitimate players. The system analyzes behavior over multiple instances to give us a high-degree of certainty that fair play is compromised. Once this is determined, a permanent ban is issued.”
Queue Teaming Gets Watched Too
There is also the issue of “queue teaming,” where players deliberately appear in the same solo lobby and team up against those playing fairly. The developer says it has reached a point where it can get on top of this too, and in the last few days has started separating known teaming groups in their attempts. “Five days later, we saw 85 percent fewer players engaging in this behavior. Spoiled raids dropped from around 1 in 50 to 1 in 300, with no meaningful impact to queue times.”
The team is also watching streams and video uploads, responding when they spot obvious cheating taking place.
What October 8 Brings
October 8’s update is called Frozen Trail. It adds a new chilly map, a massive ship to break into, and a group of new enemies. The map is called Pendola Pass. The ship is called the Frigate. The enemies include a four-legged Bully, a sneaky foe called Skulker, and a stationary turret of death called Hydra. There are also new weapons, and most excitingly (to me) a grappling hook, useful both for retrieving distant items and as a new means of traversal.
| Update | Feature |
|---|---|
| Frozen Trail | Pendola Pass map |
| Frozen Trail | Frigate ship to break into |
| Frozen Trail | Bully enemy |
| Frozen Trail | Skulker enemy |
| Frozen Trail | Hydra enemy |
| Frozen Trail | Grappling hook |
The Immediate Response
Cheating has been a persistent problem for online games. Players who use hacks or aimbots ruin matches for everyone else. The frustration builds when cheaters are spotted on streams and nothing happens to them.
The developer’s new approach is a response to that frustration. The studio is cutting through the warning process and going straight to the ban. That is a strong signal to cheaters that their accounts are at risk the moment they open the game.
“Permanent bans are now standard for all known cheat programs and, as a matter of policy, any account caught using cheats is permanently banned. No warnings, no second chances.”
The Hardware Ban Threshold
The logic behind the new policy is simple. A permanent ban issued after analysis is more accurate than a warning issued too soon. The system watches behavior across multiple sessions to build a high-degree of certainty that fair play is compromised. Once that certainty exists, the ban is issued.
The hardware ban threshold being lowered means cheaters cannot escape by creating new accounts. That closes a loophole.
What Comes Next
The October 8 update will test how well the new anti-cheat systems hold up. The 85 percent reduction in teaming behavior within five days suggests the systems are already working.
Players who value fair play have reason to cheer this move. The cheater gets banned faster, and the legitimate player gets a better experience.
The question now is whether the systems can handle the scale of a live update. The stakes are high for Embark, and for anyone hoping to play Arc Raiders without a hacker ruining their session.
The developer’s message is clear: the era of lenient treatment for cheaters is over. The new normal is immediate, permanent, and final.
See the video the story is built around at Kotaku.
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