Some Arc Raiders players woke up to a rude surprise when their accounts were hit with permanent bans for cheating. The twist is they were not using aim hacks or macro farms. They were using accessibility peripherals that help people with physical disabilities play the game.

One Reddit user, who described themselves as quadriplegic, said their sip-and-puff controller was flagged and their account was suspended and later banned. The controller, a quadstick style device, lets them use breath and simple inputs to navigate a computer for gaming and daily tasks. The player said the ban was devastating and later had their account restored after the story gained attention.

Embark Studios responds

Embark Studios acknowledged the problem publicly. In a message on social media they said the team is aware that some players using accessibility peripherals are being banned and that they are working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. The studio added that support is reviewing appeals and asked affected players to continue contacting support.

Quoted from the studio's message: "It is come to our attention that certain players using accessibility peripherals are getting banned in the game. We are working hard on resolving this issue as soon as possible. Our support team is reviewing all appeals, please continue to reach out to us if this has happened to you. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

What went wrong

The problem appears to come from Arc Raiders' built-in anti-cheat system. The system is incorrectly identifying some accessibility devices as cheats or hacks. Embark Studios has not given an exact timeline for a full fix, but the studio has promised to address the bug and is handling appeals.

What players should do now

  • If you were wrongly suspended or banned, file an appeal through the game's Technical Support Center.
  • When you appeal, explain the type of accessibility device you use and include any relevant details that show it is not a cheat.
  • Keep an eye on official support channels for updates from the studio.

This is a reminder that anti-cheat systems can have real-world consequences when they make mistakes. The studio has acted after community reports, and affected players are being asked to reach out to support while a permanent fix is developed.