Embark, the developer of Arc Raiders, began rolling out Denuvo Anti-Cheat to a limited number of players starting May 19, 2026. The move aims to address ongoing cheating problems such as wallhacks and other exploits that have troubled the game since launch [1, 2].
Embark said the Denuvo Anti-Cheat rollout follows a positive trial of the system in the game The Finals. The developer plans to expand the anti-cheat deployment gradually after monitoring its effectiveness and performance impact [1, 2]. "Following a positive rollout in The Finals, Denuvo Anti-Cheat will also come to Arc Raiders starting May 19th, initially to a limited player pool, with plans to expand after close monitoring," Embark said [1].
The studio confirmed it will not implement Denuvo's Digital Rights Management (DRM) software alongside the anti-cheat system. Embark emphasized it is focused on minimizing any negative impact on game performance caused by the anti-cheat solution. "We will not be using Denuvo's Digital Rights Management (DRM) service, and are working to ensure minimal impact on performance," the developer stated [1].
Prior to adopting Denuvo, Embark used multiple anti-cheat strategies, such as banning detected cheaters, restricting Steam family sharing, and deploying kernel-level protections. Despite these efforts, cheating has persisted within the player base [2].
In addition to the anti-cheat update, a patch released alongside May 19 included new content like the 'Rascal' grenade launcher and a new trader named 'Ermal' [1, 2]. Some players speculate the initial Denuvo Anti-Cheat rollout may focus primarily on PvP lobbies, though Embark has not officially confirmed this targeting [2].
Embark’s next step is to monitor the limited rollout closely before expanding Denuvo Anti-Cheat support to the broader Arc Raiders community [1, 2].
