Embark says accounts caught cheating in ARC Raiders are now permanently banned, with no warnings or second chances. The studio outlined the stricter policy on September 30, 2026, ahead of the game’s October 8 update. Its announcement describes ongoing enforcement work—not a patch changelog—and does not confirm that every measure mentioned shipped in the October 8 update.
What Embark says happens when an account is caught cheating
Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said permanent bans are now standard for known cheat programs and that any account caught using cheats is permanently banned as a matter of policy. Embark also described broader license restrictions, tighter action against linked accounts associated with a banned game copy, and hardware bans when evidence supports that a machine is being used for cheating. The announcement does not specify the detailed criteria or process for each of those additional restrictions. Read Embark’s September 30 statement.
Embark framed the goal as making cheating difficult, costly, and short-lived. It did not publish a total ban count or an independently verified estimate of how common cheating is in ARC Raiders.
How the anti-cheat systems and review process work
Embark described a detection stack combining Denuvo kernel-level protection, Anybrain detections, and in-house models that use machine learning and other data. The studio says these tools work together to identify suspicious behavior and build confidence before sanctions are applied. It also says the appeals process includes human review.
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That description should not be read as confirmation that every named system is deployed identically or at full scale for every player. In May 2026, Embark’s patch notes said Denuvo Anti-Cheat would begin rolling out to a limited portion of the ARC Raiders player base on May 19, with possible expansion after monitoring. The notes also named Anybrain and said Embark would not use Denuvo’s DRM service. This is rollout history, not confirmation of the systems’ precise current deployment. See the May 2026 patch notes.
Elytra was not announced as an ARC Raiders anti-cheat system. Embark said it was testing Elytra at small scale in THE FINALS and working toward a point where it could test the technology in ARC Raiders.
Why a suspected cheater may not be banned immediately
Embark says sanctions can be delayed while systems assess behavior across multiple instances. The stated reason is to gather enough confidence to reduce the risk of punishing legitimate players based on an early or ambiguous signal. The studio also says staff review public videos and streams when they provide clear evidence.
So a delay does not necessarily mean a report or suspicious incident was ignored; it may reflect the time needed to evaluate a pattern. Embark’s announcement does not provide a standard review time or promise a particular outcome for any individual report.
Is teaming with another player bannable?
Embark distinguishes spontaneous cooperation from pre-arranged queue teaming. Meeting another player during a raid and cooperating through proximity chat remains fair game, according to Grøndal. The targeted behavior is coordinating before a raid to enter the same solo lobby and gain an unfair advantage.
Embark said that five days after it began keeping known teaming groups apart in matchmaking, it saw 85% fewer players engaging in queue teaming. The studio also reported that spoiled raids fell from around one in 50 to around one in 300, with no meaningful impact to queue times. Those are company-reported figures, not independent measurements, and they show an early reduction rather than proof that the behavior has disappeared. Embark’s statement includes its queue-teaming figures.
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What the October 8 update does—and does not—establish
The September 30 announcement came ahead of the major October 8, 2026 update, but it is not an itemized set of patch notes. It does not give the October 8 patch number or confirm that every policy or enforcement measure described was introduced in that update. PC Gamer’s October 1 report covered the announcement and likewise treated the practical effect of the stronger measures as something still to observe. Read PC Gamer’s October 1 coverage.
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