ARC Raiders Shares New Anti-Cheat Update Amid Growing Player Concerns

As concerns continue to grow over constant cheaters in ARC Raiders, developer Embark Studios has shared a much-needed update on the shooter’s anti-cheat. ARC Raiders has been a huge success for Embark Studios, but a steady decline in player count over the last few weeks can be somewhat attributed to the high number of cheaters in the game. Thankfully, Embark says it is currently testing a new kernel-level anti-cheat that will “sharpen both detection and precision.”

Just like other live-service titles with a huge playerbase, such as Call of Duty or Battlefield, ARC Raiders has found itself with a severe cheating problem. Whether it be in-game exploits that allow players to go out of bounds or third-party software that gives players a huge advantage over their opponents, both casual players and content creators have been calling for some serious change. Earlier this year, Embark said it had seen the conversations around cheating and that it was taking the issue “very seriously.” The studio also confirmed that it would be implementing significant changes to its rulesets and deploying new detection mechanics to better identify and remove cheaters.

ARC Raiders Announces Regional Pricing Adjustments

ARC Raiders updates its regional pricing effective immediately, announcing these changes right before a patch to its major update.

ARC Raiders Testing New Kernel-Level Anti-Cheat

While those changes seemed promising, combating cheaters in a live-service title will forever be a never-ending battle. To further address the problem, Embark has shared a new blog post dedicated to ensuring fair play in ARC Raiders. The studio began by outlining how its current anti-cheat system works, saying that the system combines kernel-level protection from Easy Anti-Cheat with detection capabilities powered by machine-learning (ML) models, trained on a constant flow of player telemetry. There are also several other layers, but details could not be shared for operational security reasons. Embark also touched upon why it needs to use kernel-level anti-cheat, which is often controversial due to it having such high access to a user’s computer. “Kernel-level detection is a necessity because most commercial cheats operate within that space. Without it, we’d have little to no visibility into the tools doing the most damage,” the studio said.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who’s That Character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)

The post continues to explain that Embark is also currently testing a new kernel-level solution that should “sharpen both detection and precision throughout Speranza and the Rust Belt.” As for the machine-learning side of things, the team says input telemetry analysis has become one of its most effective tools to combat cheaters in ARC Raiders.

A large portion of the post also touches upon accessibility, likely due to the fact that a player went viral on Reddit after being incorrectly banned in ARC Raiders due to their use of an accessibility controller. Embark said managing accessibility devices is “one of the harder problems” when it comes to anti-cheat, noting how lesser-known devices are used to help those who need them, but can also be used to cheat. “The signal we care about is intent,” Embark said, before noting how its systems analyze telemetry and communication patterns to distinguish legitimate accessibility use from abuse, so players who depend on these devices to play can keep playing.

Embark notes that it is continuing to work with its partners at Anybrain to constantly expand the accuracy and knowledge of various accessibility devices in order to understand the intent behind their use. The team says detection will become smarter, more reliable, and more accessible over time.

Balance the critic averages

Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)

Cheating is a problem that affects all players, but it has been extremely prevalent for streamers and content creators. Ninja recently quit streaming temporarily due to the sheer amount of cheaters in ARC Raiders, and the game’s biggest streamer right now, TheBurntPeanut, has previously threatened to quit the shooter in the past if the issues are not rectified.