SAND: Raiders of Sophie Tightens Anti-Cheat and Closes Graphics Exploits

A new update for SAND: Raiders of Sophie (AppID 1431300), published on 2026-07-18, targets cheating — described by developer tinyBuild-Jay as one of the most commonly reported issues of recent weeks.

What changed

Anti-cheat

• "Major improvements" to anti-cheat systems, described as likely to "severely reduce" the most commonly reported cheats and hacks
• Explicitly framed as Phase One; further monitoring and improvements are planned
• Trampler capture mode remains deactivated until the team confirms the improvements have worked as intended

Graphics — closing a competitive exploit

• The "Off" option for fog and shadows has been removed and replaced with a Very Low preset, because some players were disabling both to gain a visibility advantage over others
• Very Low becomes the default preset for low-end GPUs
• DLSS defaults will now be set based on GPU and screen resolution

Other adjustments

• Loot respawn timers reduced from 30 minutes to 20 minutes
• Dismantling a fully loaded turret now drops loaded ammo at the player's feet
• Additional sound effects added to the Friend/Crew List menu, Storage, and End of Expedition menu
• Clearer lobby error messages added
• Bug fixes: compass, ladder climbing, crouching while carrying Repair Kit or Raw Aurogen Crystal, incorrect ammo HUD icon, 'Unknown' nickname on invitations, Trampler Editor first-level display, and a Reactor shutdown SFX issue

For players who have dealt with cheaters or exploitative visibility settings, this update directly addresses both problems — though the developers signal the anti-cheat work is not yet finished.