'Arc Raiders' issues widespread penalties for alleged cheaters

Embark Studios is finally cracking down on cheaters in its hit multiplayer game Arc Raiders. The enforcement effort kicked off Monday, with suspected cheaters receiving an in-game pop-up informing them they’ve been hit with a 30-day ban.

The move follows weeks of heated discussion across online forums, where players have been vocal about a growing cheating problem. Last week, Embark announced that it would take action against offenders using game-breaking tools, including wallhacks, invisibility exploits, and aimbots. Some players, however, argue that lumping in lesser exploits like abusing map telemetry glitches to access locked areas risks overreach, especially if those infractions lead to permanent bans.

For now, a one-month suspension appears to be the baseline punishment, with the expectation that repeat offenders will face permanent bans. Still, not everyone is satisfied. On Reddit, some players argue the initial penalty doesn’t go far enough.

“1 month only?” one user wrote. “I hope there is longer suspension for various severity of cheating.”

“Suspension? Sure, that’ll teach ’em,” another replied.

Others took a more creative approach. Suggestions in the thread ranged from making cheaters clip endlessly through the floor, to encumbering them with a permanent 10 percent movement-speed debuff. More extreme proposals included covering the map with infinitely respawning enemies or forcing cheaters into a single server that's entirely cut off from the rest of the player base.

Whether Embark tightens the punishment or sticks with progressive bans remains to be seen, but for now, Arc Raiders cheaters are officially on notice.