Overview of the DDoS Attacks

Around January 28, 2026, the extraction shooter Arc Raiders, developed by Embark Studios, was subjected to a series of "extensive, coordinated Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks". These attacks also simultaneously targeted Embark's other title, The Finals. The studio's community manager, Ossen, confirmed the ongoing nature of these attacks in a post on the official Discord server, stating that a "strike team" was actively working on mitigations and solutions. A DDoS attack aims to disrupt online services by overwhelming servers with a flood of malicious traffic, making the game inaccessible or unplayable for legitimate users.

Impact on Players and Gameplay

The DDoS attacks led to widespread server instability and connectivity issues for Arc Raiders players. Players reported experiencing severe lag, with some finding it "basically impossible to move". A common complaint was the inability to reconnect to or abandon matches. Furthermore, players were concerned about losing in-game progress and loot, with some unable to record progress from raids. One affected player described being stuck on a loading screen after rubberbanding and dying in front of a shredder. Despite the ongoing attacks, Arc Raiders still tracked over 100,000 players in-game, according to SteamDB.

Embark Studios' Response and Mitigation Efforts

Embark Studios swiftly acknowledged the server issues, confirming them to be a result of the DDoS attacks. The development team initiated efforts to mitigate the impact, with community manager Ossen providing updates on the official Discord server. Initially, some stability was restored to the servers, but the attacks continued, causing instability to resurface. However, in later updates, Embark announced that they were "noticing that servers are recovering". The studio emphasized their commitment to finding a solution while the attacks were still ongoing.

Context: Attacks Coincide with Headwinds Update

The DDoS attacks occurred just one day after the release of Arc Raiders' significant "Headwinds" update. This update introduced new content, including a solo vs. squads matchmaking option, a Bird City map condition, and various other additions. The timing was particularly unfortunate for the game, as the studio was also simultaneously working on a hotfix to address "unintended changes" and issues introduced by the Headwinds update, such as altered weapon fire rates, missing cosmetics, and premature Ukrainian localization.

Current Status and Server Recovery

As of recent reports, Arc Raiders servers have shown signs of recovery following the DDoS attacks. While Embark Studios has been actively working on mitigations, it remains unclear whether the attacks have completely concluded or if the studio has fully resolved the underlying issues. The studio continues to monitor the situation and address various other in-game issues, including duplication glitches and map condition schedule problems.