Twitch Streamer Shroud comments on cheaters in ARC Raiders

Shroud, the former pro Valorant and Counter-Strike player turned Twitch Streamer, also known as Michael Grzesiek, has added ARC Raiders developer Embark Studios is on the go for the large number of cheats currently in the extraction game. The streamer and content creator has been one of the ARC Raiders' biggest advocates since launching in October, but now suggests it may be time to move on to something new if Embark can't regain control of its game “within the next week or two.”

ARC Raiders was one of 2025's biggest surprises, became one of the year's biggest hits and overthrew giants such as Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. While the two established shooters had stellar launches in October and November respectively, ARC Raiders has managed to retain 91% of its active player base on Steam, while Battlefield 6s has decreased by 85%. That momentum appears to have carried over into 2026 as well, as new data from Alinea Analytics claims that Embark's new title had its biggest day ever on January 4, with 3.2 million daily active users across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. This is also reported by the outlet ARC Raiders has sold over 12 million copies in just two months.

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ARC Raiders players completely ignore the game's Stash limit, but it comes with a catch

Some ARC Raiders players seem to completely ignore the game's Stash limit and hoard tons of items, but that comes with a big catch.

Shroud Blasts Board over ARC Raiders Cheaters

Unfortunately, it hasn't been all sunshine and roses for Embark. As with most live service titles, ARC Raiders has its fair share of cheaters wreaking havoc in raids. The problem seems to be getting so bad that several streamers are calling for the studio to make some meaningful changes, with the likes of Shroud now blasting Embark for having “zero control over their game.” Shroud made the statement during a recent live stream, before giving the studio the benefit of the doubt, saying, “They were on vacation, so I'll cut them some slack.” But he goes on to say: “If there's no meaningful change in the next week, two weeks, what's the point of playing?”

It's not just cheaters ruining the fun for streamers like Shroud either. Various other massive content creators, such as TheBurntPeanut, TimTheTatMan, and Cloakzy, are all growing increasingly frustrated with the number of stream snipers attacking their lobby every day. As for “normal” players, even exploits on maps like Stella Montis ruin the fun, as players find more and more ways to get off the map and kill others unfairly.

Shroud's comments clearly show his frustration with the game, but it's probably even more annoying because, basically, ARC Raiders is an excellent game. After winning Best Multiplayer Game at the 2025 Game Awards, many are wondering if Embark's extraction game will be the next big thing. If Embark can take care of cheaters, deliver meaningful content updates at a steady pace, and balance the game correctly, there's a good chance that ARC Raiders stays for a long time. Despite his frustrations, Shroud even believes so ARC Raiders may be greater than Fortnite. That's a pretty bold claim, but there's no denying that the shooter has tons of potential.

Fans are also increasingly frustrated with overpowered items and weapons, such as Trigger Nade, which has become the new meta in recent weeks. Players expected a new update to arrive this week with some new balance tweaks and bug fixes, but the community was disappointed when all that arrived was a new shop rotation. Thankfully, Embark has said it's working on a new update for ARC Raiderswith nerfs to Stitcher and Trigger Nade on the way. There is still no release date for the patch at the time of writing, but the studio has previously said that it will release new updates every Tuesday, which bark means it will arrive on January 13th. But again, this has not been confirmed.