After major Arc Raiders exploit ruins games, Embark knows players want "fast action" but is taking its time to stay fair

Arc Raiders seems to be facing its first major hurdle. It cleared the first potential hazard, as players didn't seem to care that it had used generative AI for NPC voices, despite the fact it made them sound like lifeless robots. But now matches are being plagued by exploits, including duplication glitches and infinite ammo hacks, which threaten to topple the delicate balance of the game and ruin players' experiences. However, developer Embark Studios is taking its time before banning any cheaters.

Just days after Embark announced that it was ramping up its anti-cheat systems in The Finals, the studio has released an update for players of its other hit multiplayer game. In a blog post cosigned by 'The Arc Raiders Team,' Embark says that its investigation into the exploits "has now concluded." It has found the source of the glitches - "a design flaw on our part," it says - but will be taking its time to ban or otherwise punish those who rained infinite Trigger Nades from the skies last week.

"We understand the desire for fast action, especially when both gameplay and the economy suffers," the team writes. "At the same time, our responsibility is, and must be, to act with fairness and accuracy." Embark wants to ensure it doesn't ban anyone unjustly, which is fair enough in my book. There's nothing worse than having to contact the support team because you've been hit with a false ban.

Embark says it will take action "based on what we can define, prove, and stand behind." This includes "validating reports against data," "confirming exploit usage, scope and effect," "separating accidental/edge-case behavior from repeated and intentional abuse," and "assessing the measurable impact on the economy and competitive integrity."

That suggests there will be a sliding scale of consequences, which Embark details later in the blog post. Low-severity cases, where perhaps players unintentionally used the exploit or it didn't impact others, will receive a warning. Any coins tied to exploit activity will also be removed. In the most extreme cases, players will be suspended for repeatedly abusing the exploits and/or impacting other players' experiences. These punishments will be issued "over the course of this week."

In the game's Discord server, Arc Raiders' community lead, Julia Ossen, thanks players for their patience and to those "who continued playing in good faith while we worked through this." She also adds that Embark has "done [its] best to act in a way that provides a fair outcome for all our Raiders."

Looking forward, Embark says it has improved its detection, tracking, internal review tools, and safeguards, so that future exploits won't be as widespread or devastating. You can read the full blog post explaining Embark's rationale here.

Hopefully this should see an end to the exploits that have been plaguing the game for weeks, and that any future bugs won't have the same impact on regular players' games. Arc Raiders' slow and steady approach is certainly a novel one in the live-service sphere, but I won't complain if it proves effective. Now all Embark has to do is coax back all the players who stopped jumping into matches because they were riddled with cheaters, which may be easier said than done.