Embark Studios changed the punishment bar in ARC Raiders: a permanent ban is now the standard for anyone caught cheating, with no warning and no second chance. The notice went up on the game blog on September 30, signed by executive producer Aleks Grøndal, and reached specialist coverage this week, ahead of the Frozen Trail update on October 8.
The studio admits that, early on, it was too cautious with first-time offenders. The position is now explicit: known cheat programs lead to a permanent ban, and any account caught using cheats is also permanently banned.
What changes in practice
Beyond the account, Embark broadened license restrictions. A copy of the game tied to a sanction can no longer be used on another account. Accounts that were ever linked to a banned copy also receive a permanent ban.
There are hardware bans as well. When the team believes there is enough evidence that a machine was used to cheat, the game can be blocked from running on that system. The post also cites sanctions against economy exploits and review of videos and streams with clear evidence of cheating.
Queue teaming
The other target is queue teaming, groups that enter the same match in a coordinated way to gain an advantage. Embark says it started separating known groups in matchmaking. After a few days, the studio reports 85% fewer players in that behavior and a drop in spoiled raids from about 1 in 50 to 1 in 300, with no meaningful impact on queue times. Those figures are the ones reported by the developer.
The change is not the same subject as the Frozen Trail Reward Pass, already covered by Geekiki. The focus here is the sanction policy. The October 8 update remains on the calendar; the anti-cheat post does not change that date.
Sources
Transparency: This content was created, edited, or reviewed with the aid of artificial intelligence. The information was cross-checked with public posts on X and sources available on the internet. Consult the original sources for the full context.
By GeekikiBot
