Embark Studios is rolling Denuvo Anti-Cheat into ARC Raiders alongside a major progression update. Here is why players are upset, what Denuvo might fix in an extraction shooter, and how the new trader Ermal quietly reshapes the grind.
Embark Studios is trying to solve one of ARC Raiders’ biggest problems by reaching for one of PC gaming’s most controversial tools. With the latest update, the extraction shooter is rolling out Denuvo Anti-Cheat to a limited pool of players before expanding it further, all while adding a new high-level trader, a grenade launcher, and quality-of-life tweaks.
On paper, it is a straightforward pitch: fewer cheaters, better progression, more reasons to log in. In practice, the decision to bring in Denuvo has kicked up a familiar storm around performance, privacy, and whether intrusive anti-cheat ever really saves a competitive PvPvE game.
Why ARC Raiders Is Turning To Denuvo Now
ARC Raiders has struggled with cheating since launch. As with most extraction shooters, its core loop revolves around risk and reward. Players drop into hostile zones, fight AI and other squads, then try to extract with loot that directly upgrades their account and gear. A single aimbotter or wallhacker does not just ruin a match, it can destroy hours of progression.
Embark already runs Anybrain, a separate detection system that looks for suspicious behavior. Even so, players have consistently reported obvious cheaters in raids and on high-value extraction routes. That kind of reputation can kill an extraction game long before its designers run out of content.
Denuvo Anti-Cheat is the studio’s next escalation. Embark points to its use in The Finals, arguing that it performed well there, and stresses that ARC Raiders is not adopting Denuvo DRM, only the anti-cheat component. The plan is to start with a smaller group of players on May 19, monitor impact, then scale up.
In theory, this layered approach with Anybrain and Denuvo working together should speed up bans and make the game a much harsher environment for obvious cheaters and repeat offenders.
The Backlash: Performance, Trust, And The “Always-On” Fear
The pushback arrived almost instantly, and it follows three main lines.
First, performance. Denuvo as a brand is widely associated with frame drops and stutters, even when the technical reality can vary by implementation and game. Embark is already preemptively promising “minimal impact on performance,” but the burden of proof is on the studio. In an extraction shooter, smooth frame pacing and stable CPU usage matter at every stage, from firefights in cluttered complexes to last-second extraction runs under AI bombardment.
Even modest overhead can feel unacceptable when a hitch during an ambush costs a squad their entire loadout. Players who were already running near the edge of their CPU or older GPUs are particularly sensitive here, and any new stutters will be blamed on Denuvo whether or not that is fair.
Second, control over the player’s machine. Anti-cheat tools that hook deeply into the OS have a long history of making PC players uneasy. Even though Embark is not talking about a kernel-level driver in this case, the Denuvo name alone summons years of anxiety about invasive services, offline play, and potential conflicts with other software. Extraction games already require a lot of trust because losing gear to a crash or disconnect feels far worse than a typical deathmatch disconnect. When a new low level component appears in the stack, many veterans instinctively reach for the uninstall button.
Third, skepticism about effectiveness. The community has seen enough cheating scandals in titles like Tarkov-style extractions and battle royales to be cynical about any single solution. Every major anti-cheat roll out tends to be followed by reports that cheaters adapted, bypassed, or simply bought new accounts. Players questioning Embark’s decision are not just worried about their FPS, they are asking whether the tradeoff is worth it if the end result is still seeing speedhackers sprinting to dropships.
Combined, these concerns turn Denuvo into a lightning rod. The update might genuinely reduce cheating, but the moment any player experiences a suspicious performance issue or a crash after May 19, Denuvo will be the first suspect.
Why Anti-Cheat Matters More In Extraction Shooters
Despite all of that, there is a clear reason Embark is gambling on a heavier anti-cheat system. Extraction shooters amplify the cost of cheating more than most genres.
In a traditional team deathmatch, a cheater can ruin individual rounds, but losses reset quickly. In ARC Raiders, your squad’s loadouts, crafted weapons, and hoarded materials all feed into a long term economy. A single illegitimate kill can erase an entire evening’s worth of carefully planned sorties. That kind of punishment is exactly what makes extraction loops compelling, but it also magnifies any sense that the playing field is not level.
There is also the social knock-on effect. If veterans begin to believe that high tier lobbies are riddled with cheaters, many will simply migrate to other games rather than endure the slow death of trust in the system. When that happens, match quality collapses, earnings slow down, and the traders and economies designed around regular, engaged play begin to feel like chores.
From Embark’s perspective, letting rage clips of blatant aimbots define the perception of ARC Raiders is a worse fate than dealing with a Denuvo backlash. A hardline anti-cheat rollout, in combination with Anybrain, offers at least a chance to dramatically dent the most obvious forms of foul play and send a message to high tier players that their investment is protected.
The real test will be data. If Embark can point to a sharp decline in confirmed cheater activity without a corresponding rise in performance complaints, Denuvo Anti-Cheat may become an accepted cost of doing business for a serious extraction title.
The New Trader Ermal And How Progression Is Shifting
Tied to this anti-cheat push is a quieter but important shift in how ARC Raiders handles mid to late game progression. The update adds a new trader, Ermal, available to players level 25 and above, framing him as a sink and source for the clutter that naturally builds up in extraction inventories.
Ermal buys spare weapons and materials, which turns what used to be frustrating loot bloat into a more intentional economy. In return, he offers practical rewards like expanded stash space and expedition vault access, along with cosmetics, blueprints, raider tokens, and a rotating weekly catalog of items.
That rotation is key. Extraction shooters live or die on whether they can keep veteran players chasing new goals within an otherwise familiar loop. By gating Ermal behind level 25, Embark nudges players to stick with the game long enough to hit the point where the economy opens up, while the weekly offerings should give seasoned raiders a reason to keep cash and spare gear flowing rather than hoarding indefinitely.
In effect, Ermal helps smooth out the friction at the midgame, where many players in this genre tend to stall. Stash limits, unused blueprints, and awkward material caps can quietly push people away. Having a dedicated trader who normalizes converting surplus into concrete progression and fashion options is a subtle but powerful progression valve.
This also interacts indirectly with the anti-cheat effort. If cheating becomes rarer and high tier progression feels more attainable through legitimate play, the presence of a robust trader system makes every fair raid more rewarding. Conversely, if cheaters persist, Ermal’s high level rewards risk feeling gated behind an unfair wall, which will only further inflame frustration.
Rascal, Loadouts, And The Risk Reward Equation
The update’s new weapon, the Rascal grenade launcher, might look like a headline addition, but it really fits into the same broader philosophy: making risk and loadout choices more interesting.
The Rascal is a lightweight anti Arc sidearm that trades stability and reload speed for portable explosive power. Its unpredictability and slow reload are meant to keep it from completely replacing heavier anti armor options. Instead, it acts as a tactical wildcard for squads that want explosive utility without committing a primary weapon slot.
In the context of anti-cheat, it matters that risky, high skill weapons like the Rascal exist in a fair ecosystem. Explosives inherently amplify suspicion when killcams show perfectly timed shots and pin point accuracy, so the integrity of the underlying anti-cheat systems will shape whether players see Rascal highlights as clutch plays or as more proof of foul play.
Can Embark Win Back Trust?
Everything in this patch points to a studio that understands its two biggest problems: cheaters and long term motivation. Denuvo Anti-Cheat is the aggressive answer to the first, while Ermal, stash upgrades, rotating rewards, and tools like the Rascal are meant to keep the PvPvE loop rewarding for those who stick around.
Whether the plan works depends on execution over the coming weeks. If performance remains stable on a wide range of hardware and cheating reports drop meaningfully, the initial backlash around the Denuvo name may mellow into a resigned acceptance, especially among high level players who stand to benefit the most. If instead raids become choppier, crashes increase, or cheaters continue to appear frequently in high value zones, Embark will have managed to frustrate both its competitive core and its technically cautious PC audience at the same time.
For now, ARC Raiders finds itself in a familiar modern shooter dilemma: players want ruthless anti-cheat and total respect for their machines, all while demanding a fair, vibrant economy that rewards their time. Embark’s latest update is a bold attempt to juggle all of that at once. The next few months of data and community sentiment will determine whether Denuvo Anti-Cheat and the new trader become foundations of a healthier extraction endgame or footnotes in a patch that tried to fix everything at once and satisfied no one.