ARC Raiders PC Gamers Get Unfair Advantage over PS5 and Xbox, Embark Crackdown

ARC Raiders has dominated the online shooter genre ever since it dropped last year, leaving both Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Battlefield 6 in the dust. However, it ran in to a bit of a problem.

Players have praised ARC Raiders for presenting one of the most fun extraction shooters we’ve had in years, largely due to the in-game voice chat leading to some hilarious interaction with strangers online.

It hasn’t been without its flaws though and thankfully developer Embark Studios has largely had its finger on the pulse when it comes to the latest developments.

At the time of writing though PC players have discovered a game-breaking exploit that gives them an unfair advantage over those playing on Xbox and PlayStation, and we’re still waiting on a fix.

It’s all about the filters. ARC Raiders slaps a variety of filters and visual impairments over gameplay to limit visibility and ensure players aren’t sniping each other from across the map, from weather effects to lighting.

These filters come from NVIDIA but PC players have discovered that you can actually turn them off, giving you a better view of your surroundings and preventing other players from getting the drop on you, even from miles away. NVIDIA was quick to issue a fix for this, but clever PC players have found a way to bypass it.

You can see some before and after images on the ARC Raiders’ Reddit page, and it’s pretty clear how this exploit could provide an unfair advantage to those playing on PC.

Embark Studios

As most console players will know, playing any game on Xbox or PlayStation tends to restrict how much control or influence you have over a game’s settings. It’s usually simplified as the console is doing most of the work for you whereas on PC it’s far more customisable.

There are similar exploits to this one on other games like Fortnite, as PC players often decrease the quality of their graphics so distant enemies can be more easily seen. However what ARC Raiders players have been doing feels excessive.

Many players are blaming the developers, with one saying “the fact [Embark Studios] just left full console access and the ability to use just about whatever commands you want is insane. Should players be able to disable fog? Sure, why not.”

Hopefully this is fixed soon, otherwise it could seriously impact the playerbase as more and more console players fall victim to this exploit.