Arc Raiders Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) Error: How to Fix It

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Arc Raiders’ Easy Anti-Cheat error almost always means EAC failed to install or register — not that your account is banned or your PC is broken. Easy Anti-Cheat runs as a separate service from the game, and Arc Raiders (like its Embark stablemate The Finals) ships its own batch installers you can rerun to fix it. Most launch failures clear in a couple of steps.

Arc Raiders Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) Error: How to Fix It

This covers the most common Arc Raiders EAC failures — “Failed to install EasyAntiCheat,” “Easy Anti-Cheat is not installed,” and the anti-cheat hanging on launch — in the order most likely to fix them fast.

1. Close every other Easy Anti-Cheat game first

This is the single most common cause and the fastest fix. Two EAC-protected games cannot run at the same time, and Arc Raiders shares EAC with Fortnite, Apex Legends, and The Finals.

  1. Fully quit any other EAC game — not just the window; check the system tray and close it there too.
  2. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and end any leftover game or EasyAntiCheat processes.
  3. Launch Arc Raiders on its own.

2. Run the manual EAC installer as administrator

Arc Raiders ships batch files that install and uninstall EAC directly — Embark’s own support recommends these when the automatic install fails.

  1. Open your Arc Raiders install folder. On Steam that’s usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ARC Raiders\Installers.
  2. Right-click install_EasyAntiCheat.bat and select Run as administrator.
  3. If a Repair option appears in the EAC window, use it; otherwise let the installer finish.
  4. Relaunch the game.

If installing alone doesn’t take, right-click uninstall_EasyAntiCheat.bat first, run it as administrator, then run the installer again.

3. Delete the corrupted EAC system file

A single corrupted EAC driver file can block launches while everything else looks fine.

  1. Fully close Arc Raiders.
  2. Open C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat_EOS.
  3. Delete EasyAntiCheat_EOS.sys.
  4. Restart your PC and relaunch Arc Raiders — the file is recreated cleanly on the next start.

4. Check for antivirus or firewall blocking

Because EAC operates at a low level, security software sometimes flags, quarantines, or blocks it.

  1. Open your antivirus and check its quarantine or blocked items list for anything named EasyAntiCheat.
  2. Add both the Arc Raiders install folder and the EasyAntiCheat_EOS folder as exclusions.
  3. Temporarily disable third-party firewalls (not Windows Firewall) and test a launch — if it works, add a permanent exception instead of leaving protection off.

5. Confirm the Easy Anti-Cheat service is running

If the EAC service is disabled and never starts, the game can’t hook into it.

  1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
  2. Find the EasyAntiCheat (or EasyAntiCheat_EOS) service.
  3. Right-click → Properties → set Startup type to Manual or Automatic.
  4. Click Start if it isn’t running, then OK.

6. Verify Arc Raiders’ game files

Corrupted game files can stop EAC from deploying correctly even when the anti-cheat itself is fine.

  1. In Steam, right-click ARC Raiders → Properties → Installed Files → Verify integrity of game files.
  2. Let it finish, then relaunch.

7. Rule out overlays and conflicting software

FPS overlays and RGB/monitoring tools occasionally interfere with EAC’s process checks — and some RGB or memory-tuning tools get detected as tampering.

  • Close MSI Afterburner / RivaTuner (RTSS) and Discord’s in-game overlay while testing.
  • Close third-party RGB and fan-control software during the first launch after a fix.
  • Once Arc Raiders launches cleanly, re-enable them one at a time to find the culprit if the problem returns.

Most Arc Raiders EAC errors are another EAC game left running, a failed installer, or a corrupted driver file — not a ban or a hardware fault. Close conflicting games first, rerun the manual installer, and the file cleanup in step 3 clears whatever is left.

Frequently asked questions

Why does Arc Raiders say it failed to install Easy Anti-Cheat?

EAC's installer didn't complete or its files got corrupted, usually after a patch, an antivirus deletion, or an interrupted first launch. Arc Raiders ships batch installers in its own Installers folder — running install_EasyAntiCheat.bat as administrator fixes the large majority of these cases.

Where are the Arc Raiders Easy Anti-Cheat installer files?

They're in the game's install directory under an Installers subfolder — on Steam that's typically steamapps\common\ARC Raiders\Installers. Inside are batch files to install and uninstall EAC; right-click install_EasyAntiCheat.bat and choose Run as administrator to redeploy the anti-cheat.

Can I run Arc Raiders and Fortnite at the same time?

No. Arc Raiders, Fortnite, Apex Legends, and The Finals all use Easy Anti-Cheat, and two EAC-protected games cannot run at the same time. Fully close any other EAC game — including from the system tray and Task Manager — before launching Arc Raiders, or its anti-cheat will fail to start.

Does deleting EasyAntiCheat_EOS.sys fix Arc Raiders launch errors?

Often, yes. Close the game, delete EasyAntiCheat_EOS.sys from C:\Program Files (x86)\EasyAntiCheat_EOS, then restart your PC and relaunch. Windows and EAC recreate the file cleanly, which clears many stubborn 'not installed' and 'failed to start' errors.

Do I need Secure Boot to play Arc Raiders?

Arc Raiders does not force Secure Boot the way Vanguard-based games do, but a half-enabled or misconfigured Secure Boot state can still trip Easy Anti-Cheat. If launches started failing after a BIOS change, either fully enable Secure Boot in UEFI or reset it to a clean state, then reboot and relaunch.