ARC Raiders News

Arc Raiders' first new map arrives this month, bringing even more Arc units, just as the game casually breaks its own Steam record again

Arc Raiders, easily the biggest game for developer Embark, has seen one of the smoothest, most well-received launches for a multiplayer game in recent memory. But as the saying often goes, this is only the beginning.

Sure looks like Arc Raiders is off to an alright start, 'ey? Success doesn't mean there's any rest for the wicked, i.e. a live service game, however. Just yesterday, only a day after launching, developer Embark Studios revealed their Arc Raiders roadmap for the rest of 2025. It's light on details, but does offer a good outline for what you can expect at the very least.

Hotfix - Oct 31

[p]Incoming Hotfix![/p][p][/p][p]We've just rolled out a quick update to tidy up some server issues. Restart your game to download the new patch![/p][p]Thank you for your diligent reporting, the team is keeping a close eye on your games!
[/p][p]- Fixed an issue where the Augment Effects didn't work.[/p][p]- Fixed the robotic proximity voice.[/p][p]- Fixed an issue that was causing crashes.[/p][p]- Temporarily disabled virtual tracking for codex trackers to ensure all objective types unlock correctly.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug where the Augment Effect wouldn't work when equipping another quick use item.[/p][p]- Fixed incorrect drop chances for keys in certain circumstances.[/p][p]- Fixed so the proximity VoIP UI always shows while speaking.[/p][p]- Fixed some graphical errors in epic settings.[/p][p]- Fixed a memory leak caused by steam avatar pictures.[/p][p]- Added charge progress hint for integrated shield repair.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug where the health regen augment skills wouldn't work if triggered while DBNO.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug where players could end up on the train tracks by the metro extractions on the Buried City map.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug where steam avatars wouldn't show up on the social tab.[/p][p]- Fixed some issues with geometry on the Blue Gate map.[/p][p]- Fixed the material on some interior floors.[/p][p]- Improved lighting in some areas.[/p][p]- Fixed images in the store uniformly to scale regardless of aspect ratio.[/p][p]- Fixed a bug where the Trials screen could be accessed through the customization screen before unlocking it.[/p][p]- The store no longer scrolls to the top after using the 'Back' option.[/p][p][/p][p]//Ossen[/p][p]And the ARC Raiders Team[/p]

The hardest part of making Arc Raiders was creating a "meaningful" item meta so that your loot doesn't just feel like "cash"

A question I often ask game developers when I've run out of real questions is: what was the hardest part of making your game? Which is a terrible line of inquiry, because it's like asking somebody with their foot in a hornet's nest which individual hornet they dislike the most. As Arc Raiders executive producer Aleksander Grøndal told me in a chat last week, "I can probably sit here and talk to you about all the problems we've had for hours on end, but yeah, game development is always tricky. That's what I can say. There's nothing that comes for free - everything is a constant struggle."

Still, the question often gets an interesting response, because as readers of Alex Wiltshire's old The Mechanic series will know, big problems may necessitate inventive solutions. So, what has been the hardest part of making Arc Raiders? Perfecting the slides? Avoiding mandatory player progression resets from season to season? Dealing with reports about the game's generative AI usage? According to Grøndal, it was trying to create an economy of loot and crafting materials - ranging from all-purpose Mechanical Components to rare or uncommon ingredients for specific guns, sometimes found in special field depots - that isn't too "punishing" and which doesn't just feel like accumulating "cash value".

Arc Raiders has seemingly done what it set out to do, becoming the biggest extraction shooter outside of Tarkov. The game officially arrived on PC and consoles on Thursday, and people clearly showed up for it everywhere.