Cheating in Arc Raiders* is about to get a lot riskier. In a newly released update, Embark Studios has announced a sweeping overhaul to its anti-cheat measures, shifting from temporary warnings to permanent bans for the most egregious offenders. The changes reflect both a response to persistent exploitation and a broader industry push to stamp out unfair play—one that Arc Raiders’ developers say is long overdue.
The update introduces a tiered enforcement system: strong detections will result in immediate permanent bans, while lesser violations will trigger temporary suspensions paired with a single chance for players to demonstrate corrected behavior. This marks a departure from previous policies, where repeat offenders might have faced repeated warnings before facing consequences.
Behind the scenes, Embark has also strengthened its Family Sharing restrictions, a feature that previously allowed some players to bypass individual account bans by linking multiple profiles. The studio now claims these updates have made it far harder for bad actors to exploit shared accounts to evade penalties.
Perhaps the most significant change, however, is the introduction of a manual review process for ban appeals. In the past, automated systems handled most cases, but Embark now acknowledges that telemetry-driven detections—while sophisticated—can sometimes yield false positives or miss nuanced violations. To address this, the team is implementing a systematic human review of disputed cases, ensuring every appeal is examined with greater scrutiny. The goal is to balance swift enforcement with fairness, though the process will inevitably slow down responses during its initial rollout.
For players, the message is clear: Arc Raiders is no longer tolerating cheating, even in its early-access phase. The update arrives as the game faces growing competition from titles like Marathon*, which has recently announced its own permanent bans for cheaters—a move that may have influenced Embark’s decision to harden its own stance. Whether these changes will be enough to curb exploitation remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the consequences for getting caught have never been steeper.
