ARC Raiders Bans Extend to Steam Family Sharing Accounts in Anti-Cheat Push

Embark Studios just slammed the door on a popular workaround cheaters were exploiting in ARC Raiders. The developer now prevents banned players from accessing the extraction shooter through Steam Family Sharing accounts.

This move comes after Christmas turned into an absolute nightmare for legitimate players. Hackers flooded the servers while most people were trying to enjoy their holiday gaming sessions. Embark returned in January with promises. Big ones.

The studio outlined plans to tackle the cheating epidemic through improved detection systems and stricter rulesets. Today's Family Sharing restriction? That's the latest weapon in their arsenal.

Why This Matters

Here's the thing about Steam Family Sharing. Before this change, banned players simply hopped onto a connected account and kept ruining matches. The system let multiple accounts share game libraries, which sounds great until you realise cheaters were using it as a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Not anymore.

When Embark bans you now, that ban extends across your entire Steam Family. Share your library with five accounts? All five lose access to ARC Raiders if one gets caught cheating. The message is clear: play fair or don't play at all.

The Numbers Tell a Story

ARC Raiders sold over 12 million copies. That's massive for a new IP. The game even snagged Best Multiplayer Game at the 2025 Game Awards, beating out some serious competition. Player counts remain strong months after launch.

But success attracts the wrong crowd. Cheat providers saw those player numbers and dollar signs appeared in their eyes. The result? Widespread hacking that threatened to tank the game's reputation.

Players weren't quiet about their frustrations either. Social media lit up with complaints throughout December and January. Some questioned whether Embark was doing enough. Others threatened to quit entirely if the situation didn't improve.

What Embark Promised

The studio's January statement laid out a roadmap. New detection mechanisms to catch cheaters faster. Adjusted rulesets to close loopholes. Increased monitoring during peak hours.

Critics argued these were just words. Today's Family Sharing change proves Embark meant business. This isn't a PR statement. This is actual, tangible action that directly impacts how cheaters operate.

Room for Improvement?

Look, the community still wants more. Some players are calling for hardware ID bans. Others want region-specific matchmaking to isolate problem areas. A vocal group keeps pushing for a more aggressive anti-cheat client similar to what Valorant uses.

Fair concerns? Absolutely. But here's the reality: anti-cheat is an arms race. Developers implement countermeasures, cheat creators find new exploits, and the cycle continues. No system is perfect.

What matters is that Embark keeps evolving its approach. The Family Sharing ban shows they're listening and adapting. Whether it's enough to satisfy everyone remains an open question.

The Bigger Picture

ARC Raiders exists in a competitive space. Escape from Tarkov still dominates the extraction shooter genre. Hunt: Showdown maintains a dedicated following. These games all face similar cheating challenges, and their solutions vary wildly.

What separates a good live-service game from a dead one often comes down to how developers handle these problems. Ignore cheaters and your playerbase evaporates. Act too slowly and the damage becomes irreversible.

Embark seems to understand this. The studio's willingness to make unpopular changes (because let's be honest, legitimate Family Sharing users might get caught in the crossfire) shows they prioritise game health over avoiding controversy.

Time will tell if these measures work. Cheaters are creative. They'll probe for weaknesses and exploit whatever they find. But for now, ARC Raiders players have one less thing to worry about when they queue up for their next raid.

The war against cheaters never ends. At least Embark is fighting it.