The “30-day, then 60-day, then permanent” ban ladder was a proposal reported in January 2026—not Embark’s current announced policy. In an anti-cheat update published September 30, 2026, Embark said accounts caught cheating would be permanently banned, with “No warnings, no second chances.” The distinction matters: the January story captured criticism of a proposed system, while the later statement announced a stricter approach.
What was the January ban-system proposal?
On January 27, 2026, Insider Gaming reported that Embark was implementing escalating suspensions for repeat cheaters: 30 days for a first offense, 60 days for a second, then a permanent ban. Some players objected that this appeared to let a confirmed cheater return twice before receiving a permanent sanction. That criticism was about the proposal as reported then, not a measured view shared by all ARC Raiders players. Insider Gaming’s January report
What is Embark’s announced policy now?
In its September 30, 2026 anti-cheat update, Embark said it had initially been too cautious about permanently banning first-time cheaters. The studio’s stated policy is now permanent bans for known cheat programs and permanent bans for any account caught using cheats. Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal put it plainly: “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.” Embark’s official anti-cheat update
| Policy question | January 2026 proposal, as reported | September 2026 announced policy |
|---|---|---|
| First confirmed cheating offense | 30-day suspension, according to Insider Gaming’s January 27 report. | Permanent ban, according to Embark’s September 30 statement. |
| Repeat offenses | 60-day suspension for a second offense, then permanent ban for a third, according to the January report. | Embark’s update says any account caught cheating is permanently banned; it does not describe a 30/60-day escalation ladder. |
| Preventing a return through another account or the same copy | Not stated in the January report. | Embark said it uses license restrictions to stop a sanctioned copy from being used with another account, and that accounts associated with a banned copy are also permanently banned. |
| Hardware sanctions | Not stated in the January report. | Embark said it lowered the threshold for hardware bans when evidence supports identifying a machine used for cheating; it cautioned that hardware bans can be circumvented. |
| Evidence review and appeals | Not stated in the January report. | Embark described building confidence from behavior across multiple instances before acting and said appeals involve human review. |
How does Embark say it decides when to ban?
Embark says its detection approach combines kernel-level protection from Denuvo, detections from Anybrain, and in-house models that use machine learning and other data. The studio says these systems build confidence before action by examining behavior over multiple instances. It says it does not ban the moment something merely looks suspicious because that could wrongly punish legitimate players. As Grøndal explained, “Anti-cheat systems can’t ban a player the moment something looks suspicious.”
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Embark also says appeals receive human review. It reviews public videos and streams when they provide clear evidence of cheating, but a clip alone does not establish whether a particular player has been investigated; the studio says some work may happen behind the scenes. Embark’s explanation of detection and review
What did Embark report about queue teaming?
Queue teaming is different from teaming with someone met during a raid. Embark defines it as coordinating before a raid to land in the same solo lobby and attack solo players; it says teaming with a player encountered in a raid through proximity chat remains allowed.
Five days after Embark began separating known queue-teaming groups in matchmaking, the studio reported 85% fewer players engaging in the behavior and a decline in spoiled raids from around 1 in 50 to 1 in 300, with no meaningful effect on queue times. These are Embark’s own reported figures: its cited update gives no sample size or independent evaluation, so they should not be read as a general measure of cheating prevalence. Embark’s update on queue-teaming measures
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do players think the new policy is tough enough?
The January coverage documented objections to the earlier 30-day/60-day proposal. It does not establish how players as a whole view Embark’s later permanent-ban policy. Comments on a Reddit repost of the September update show varied individual reactions, not a representative poll; separate Steam Community complaints about PvP do not measure attitudes toward the ban rules. The available comments therefore cannot support a claim of consensus or a trend in player opinion.
Embark has also acknowledged that enforcement cannot eliminate cheating entirely. Grøndal said, “Video game cheating is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it will never fully go away.” That is the studio’s position, not a quantified forecast of how often cheating will occur in ARC Raiders. GamesRadar+ coverage of Embark’s update
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