Shroud, the former professional Valorant and Counter-Strike player turned Twitch Streamer, also known as Michael Grzesiek, has put ARC Raiders developer Embark Studios on blast for the sheer number of cheaters currently present in the extraction shooter. The streamer and content creator has been one of ARC Raiders‘ biggest advocates since its launch in October, but is now suggesting it could be time to move on to something new if Embark cannot regain control of its game “in the next week or two.”
ARC Raiders was one of 2025’s biggest surprises, becoming one of the biggest hits of the year and toppling giants such as Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. While the two established shooters had fantastic launches in October and November, respectively, ARC Raiders has managed to maintain 91% of its active player base on Steam, while Battlefield 6‘s has fallen by 85%. That momentum appears to have carried over into 2026, too, as new data from Alinea Analytics claims that Embark’s new title had its biggest day ever on January 4, with 3.2 million daily active users across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The outlet also reports that ARC Raiders has sold over 12 million copies in just two months.
ARC Raiders Players Are Completely Disregarding the Game’s Stash Limit, But It Comes With a Catch
Some ARC Raiders players appear to be completely disregarding the game’s Stash limit and hoarding tons of items, but it does come with a big catch.
Shroud Blasts Embark Over ARC Raiders Cheaters
Unfortunately, it hasn’t been all sunshine and roses for Embark. Like with most live-service titles, ARC Raiders has its fair share of cheaters wreaking havoc in raids. The issue appears to be getting so bad that multiple streamers are calling on the studio to make some meaningful changes, with the likes of Shroud now blasting Embark for having “zero control over their game.” Shroud made the statement during a recent live stream, before giving the studio the benefit of the doubt, saying, “They were on holiday, so I will give them some slack.” However, he continues by saying, “If there’s no meaningful change in the next week, two weeks, what’s the point of playing?”
It isn’t just cheaters ruining the fun for streamers such as Shroud, either. Various other massive content creators, such as TheBurntPeanut, TimTheTatMan, and Cloakzy, are all becoming increasingly frustrated by the number of stream snipers infesting their lobbies every single day. As for “normal” players, exploits on maps like Stella Montis are also ruining the fun, as players are finding more and more ways to glitch their way out of the map and kill others unfairly.
Shroud’s comments clearly show his frustration with the game, but it’s likely even more irritating because, at its core, ARC Raiders is an excellent game. After winning Best Multiplayer Game at the 2025 Game Awards, many are wondering whether Embark’s extraction shooter is going to be the next big thing. If Embark is able to take care of cheaters, deliver meaningful content updates at a steady pace, and balance the game correctly, there’s a good chance that ARC Raiders sticks around for a long time. Despite his frustrations, Shroud even believes that ARC Raiders could be bigger than Fortnite. It’s quite a bold claim, but there’s no denying that the shooter has tons of potential.
Fans are also becoming increasingly frustrated with overpowered items and weapons, such as the Trigger Nade, which has become the new meta over the last few weeks. Players expected a new update to arrive this week with some new balance adjustments and bug fixes, but the community was left disappointed when the only thing that arrived was a new store rotation. Thankfully, Embark has said it is working on a new update for ARC Raiders, with nerfs to the Stitcher and Trigger Nade on the way. There’s still no release date for the patch as of writing, but the studio has previously said it will release new updates every Tuesday, which should mean it arrives on January 13. But, again, this has not been confirmed.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
