The publisher behind Arc Raiders is now training in-house AI models to detect cheating as the arms race escalates with persistent cheaters. Cheating on online games is a perennial problem, and it only gets worse the more a title becomes popular, which is why the Arc Raiders developer released an update on its anti-cheat measures. According to Arc Raiders executive producer Aleks, Embark Studios has been working on the issue, and it has deliberately been scant on details to make it harder for cheat engine makers to adapt. However, this stance has been frustrating some players, which is why the company finally gave some details of what it has been working on behind the scenes.
Embark Studios said that it’s already using kernel-level anti-cheat from Denuvo, and that it also detects cheaters using Anybrain’s AI service. But aside from those third-party providers, the company said that it’s also using artificial intelligence to build in-house models to help detect cheating. “In addition to kernel-level protection from Denuvo and detections from Anybrain, we’re using a growing set of in-house models built around machine-learning and other data,” Aleks wrote. “These systems work together to identify suspicious behavior and build confidence before action is taken, while allowing us to continue improving detection as new cheats emerge.”
Aside from building and using anti-cheat tools, the developer is also tightening its enforcement of anti-cheating rules. A permanent ban is now the standard sanction for anyone caught cheating, and it will not give any warnings or second chances to offenders. It has also started associating copies of the game to accounts accused of cheating, so cheaters can’t simply make a new account using the same game license to get back into the game. Other accounts linked to a banned copy of the game will receive the same permaban, as well.
Aleks also said that Embark Studios is working on a hardware ban to cut the number of repeat offenders, and that it hopes to implement this solution later this year. This may be the biggest move that Embark Studios will make, but it also risks other players who buy used hardware that’s been previously flagged and get their account banned, too. One unfortunate Valorant player experienced this recently, but since Riot’s bans are temporary, they could get back into the game after a few months. This might be a different case for Arc Raiders, though, since the game enforces permabans, so this is something that it must consider so it doesn’t prosecute innocent gamers.
All these changes might seem harsh, but it seems that the crackdown is driven by complaints from the game’s burgeoning community. Aleks even noted some players’ frustrations, especially when they see streamers boasting their cheats, but said that the company is careful so that it doesn’t incorrectly ban legitimate players.
Anti-cheat technology is a game of cat and mouse between developers and cheaters, and Aleks said, “it will never fully go away.” Embark Studios is trying to make it as difficult as possible, though, and has employed these strict measures as a deterrent to prevent players from even thinking about cheating. It’s also not the only developer trying to clamp down on cheating, with an individual researcher even building a technique to fingerprint players using their mouse and keyboard inputs and track cheaters across accounts and hardware.
Follow * Tom's Hardware on Google News**, or* * add us as a preferred source**, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.*
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
-
cackys said:Who is Embody?Did somebody confuse Embark Studios with this? https://embody.co/blogs/gaming-with-immerse/immerse-gaming-arc-raiders-sound-settings
Second result for "Embody arc raiders". First is this article. Reply -
Any tools implemented to flawlessly 100% ban cheaters will also ban false positives. As soon as you start banning false positives, the lawsuits will begin for obvious reasons. This nearly happened with Black Ops Cold War (I think it was). You will end up banning cheaters who find loopholes in the game (not to be confused with glitches/mods/hacks/injected DLLs). There are some people who are a little bit craftly and like to think outside about the box, and improve a bit. I'll pick on myself as example.
When you have 35 years of gaming experience here.... you learn how to.... how shall I put this......... do things that you shouldn't be able to do. I can't count how many times I've done something in a game.... and after I was like... Lol... ya.... you're not supposed to be able to do that. But.... what I did involved no glitches, no mods, no hacks, no injected DLLs, none of that. I was playing the game 100% complete stock with no add-ons or mods of any kind. I knew I wasn't supposed to be able to do that, but it was done using mechanics that the developer put into the game. To put it in layman's terms: the guardrails were 1/16th of an inch too low. How's that? I actually did something like this in Mario Kart World the other day, in freeroam on a P-Switch challenge. I knew how the game clearly intended for it to be done but I looked around the area and was like..... hmmmmm.... a few calculations here and there.... nail down the timing and voila ! No glitches/mods/hacks involved. I just.... got creative. So am I going to get banned for just.... playing the game? and being creative?
Also, if you ban the game license and not just the account, then someone else who plays the game using that license, and plays legitimately can't play anymore. That's an instant false positive right now.
The question is: How do you ban cheaters? only cheaters? ALL cheaters? and no false positives. The answer: You don't. You can't. It's not possible. Anything that can be detected can be spoofed. Reply
-
No, stop! We do not even agree on what the definition of cheating is anymore! Someone who is using an aimbot is a lot different from someone giving themselves in-game currency or gaining access to progression-gated content without having met the prerequisites.
I'll never forgive Rockstar for banning me from GTA Online just for being on the same server as people handing out cash like candy during New Years celebrations a long time ago. I did nothing wrong, but they accused me of cheating and provided zero recourse. Most recently, there's been a ton of drama over Helldivers 2 and Arrowhead/Sony failing to address the technical debt in their game. Mods have fixed many issues and added far more features to the game, but nobody can agree where the line between mod and cheat is -- just forcing the collision meshes to line up with enemy corpses is considered a cheat and not a bug fix by some.
I don't trust the gaming industry to deploy AI anti-cheat in a way that doesn't harm the performance of games and my systems. Furthermore, I think the idea of permanent bans is no longer appropriate given how often they've been misapplied and abused by studios. Every game should implement a "cheater's realm" especially if they intend to leverage AI -- the thing famous for hallucinating and pulling non-deterministic answers out of thin air. Reply