Embark Studios has moved to punish players who abused a recent duplication exploit in Arc Raiders, the developer confirmed following a surge in reports of illicit item replication and other glitches.

The studio said it had identified and taken action against accounts that were found to have gained an unfair advantage by exploiting the bug. Measures include removal of illegitimately obtained items, rollback of affected progression and account sanctions ranging from temporary suspensions to permanent bans, with further enforcement expected as investigations continue.

Sponsored

Arc Raiders continues to attract significant attention on PC, approaching almost 1 million concurrent players during peak periods, and Embark has outlined a roadmap of events and updates running through to April. Despite the strong player numbers, the title has experienced a rocky start to 2026, with stability and exploit mitigation emerging as key priorities for the live team.

Embark deployed fixes aimed at closing the duplication vector and addressed several other reported glitches. The developer said monitoring and logging tools were used to identify suspicious activity and to target remediation efforts without disrupting legitimate players' experiences.

The studio stressed that protecting the integrity of progression and the in-game economy remained central to its response. Embark also reiterated standard procedures for handling abuse cases, noting that measures were targeted at clear instances of exploitation rather than normal gameplay or isolated bugs.

Community reaction to the enforcement has been mixed, with many players welcoming decisive action against exploiters while others expressed concern about the potential for false positives during automated sweeps. Embark indicated that its enforcement would remain ongoing as it balances remediation with live-service development.

Eurogamer first reported the developer's announcement and provided details of the studio's actions and planned fixes.