ARC Raiders has experienced a wave of game-breaking exploits over the past week, and Embark Studios is coming down with penalties for those who repeatedly and intentionally abused them.
On Feb. 17, the developer released an update addressing the duplication glitches in ARC Raiders, stating that although they appeared from a design flaw, the way they were used had a “real impact on the game’s economy and the way the community experienced ARC Raiders.”
Over the course of the next week, the developer will issue enforcement actions to accounts that used the exploit. This is based on the data the studio tracks to determine the scope and effect, as well as separate accidental cases from intentional.
Depending on the severity, intent, frequency, and impact, players who used the duplication glitch may receive a warning, lose some of their Coins, or face a suspension if the actions had a significant impact on the in-game economy or other players’ experience.
There seems to be a mixed community reaction regarding the penalties, with some Raiders pushing back, saying they shouldn’t be suspended for the developer’s misstep:
“Embark should take responsibility. Even tho the exploits were severe in some cases, players literally only did what the game in its state allowed them to do. It was no third party app, no cheat.. just embark balancing their game in a ridiculous way and including some gamebreaking/economy breaking bugs. I don’t think they have the right to outright ban someone for this. It was available to everyone.”
Another player said on X:
“Taking punitive action against a bug found in YOUR game is ridiculous and will do more harm than good to your fanbase. Instead, how about you thank these video game testers for finding bugs in your game, you fix said bug, and move on!”
It seems that suspensions are reserved for extremely severe cases, though, like for Raiders who took advantage of glitches for PvP, as Raiders who duplicated ducks to earn Coins only received warnings and lost some of their Coins.
While ARC Raiders doesn’t have a player-driven economy, glitches like this affect other players’ progression and experience. Multiple glitches last week allowed players to duplicate throwable items as well as get weapons with infinite ammo.
It’s harmless when duplicating ducks, but it destroys competitive integrity if a player decides to duplicate grenades and use them for PvP. Regardless of the reaction, the penalty rollout will take place throughout the week, and it’ll become clearer what players can expect from Emabrk Studios when it comes to dealing with such exploits.
