ARC Raiders adds Denuvo anti-cheat

Embark Studios added Denuvo Anti-Cheat to ARC Raiders in patch 1.29.0 on Tuesday, expanding the game’s anti-cheat setup as the studio pushes a new live update. The change appeared in ARC Raiders patch notes published May 19 and in the game’s Steam news feed the same day. (thearcraiders.com) Embark had said in a separate anti-cheat update that ARC Raiders already used Easy Anti-Cheat and machine-learning detection tools. The studio described the Denuvo addition as the start of a “limited rollout,” not a full switch-over. (store.steampowered.com) The anti-cheat move surfaced publicly as players reacted on Steam and social media on May 19. (thearcraiders.com) Insider Gaming’s X account posted earlier Tuesday that ARC Raiders had implemented Denuvo anti-cheat, and Steam comments under the patch announcement quickly turned to the security change alongside discussion of the wider patch. Embark has not issued a separate press release dedicated to Denuvo. ### Where did the Denuvo change show up? Patch 1.29.0 listed “Denuvo Anti-Cheat begins a limited rollout alongside Anybrain” in the official ARC Raiders notes published Tuesday. (thearcraiders.com) The same patch also added a new trader named Ermal, a new weapon called The Rascal, balance changes, cosmetics and bug fixes. Steam’s ARC Raiders news page linked players to the full patch notes and flagged “An Update on Security and Anti-cheat” as part of the May 19 update package. The Steam community announcement for the patch drew more than 160 comments within hours, with some players explicitly praising the anti-cheat addition. (steamcommunity.com) ### What anti-cheat was ARC Raiders using before this? Embark said in its “Ensuring Fair Play” post that ARC Raiders’ anti-cheat stack combined “kernel-level protection from Easy Anti-Cheat” with machine-learning detection models. That post was published before Tuesday’s patch and framed anti-cheat as a studio-wide effort across Embark’s games. (thearcraiders.com) SteamDB metadata for ARC Raiders also listed AnyBrain AntiCheat and EasyAntiCheat among the game’s technologies before the new patch. Tuesday’s patch notes are the first official game update cited here that name Denuvo Anti-Cheat as joining that stack. (steamcommunity.com) ### Is this Denuvo DRM or Denuvo anti-cheat? Gaming coverage published Tuesday drew a distinction between Denuvo Anti-Cheat and Denuvo’s anti-tamper DRM product. Rock Paper Shotgun reported that Embark was adding Denuvo Anti-Cheat and said the studio was “working to ensure minimal impact on performance,” while GamingOnLinux said the rollout would begin May 19 alongside the game’s existing systems. (store.steampowered.com) Embark’s own patch notes referred specifically to “Denuvo Anti-Cheat,” not DRM. (steamdb.info) The official ARC Raiders materials cited here did not announce any change to the game’s listed store model or pricing alongside the update. ### What else changed in patch 1.29.0? Patch 1.29.0 added Ermal, a “Nomadic Envoy” trader for players at level 25 and above, and introduced The Rascal, a lightweight grenade launcher. The update also reduced the Photoelectric Cloak’s power cost, reworked the Extended Barrel mod into three tiers, adjusted the Bettina weapon’s fire rate and added bug fixes. (rockpapershotgun.com) Embark said on May 13 that it was changing how ARC Raiders would be updated, with two larger content updates per year and smaller live updates for fixes and balance changes in between. The studio named “Frozen Trail” as its next major update. (thearcraiders.com) ### What comes next from Embark? June 2 is the next dated milestone named in the May 19 patch notes, when Embark said The Sheath Set cosmetic release is scheduled to arrive. The studio has also told players that Frozen Trail is in development as the next major ARC Raiders update, though it has not given that release a date in the materials reviewed here. (thearcraiders.com) (store.steampowered.com)