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The Latest Breaking News from Virgil Watkins

Arc Raiders almost had an auction house like Escape From Tarkov, but Embark nixed it because the game became 'just about coins'

"We put a lot of very, very deliberate effort into making the game about the items."

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders had an auction house-style trade system at one point, but Embark removed it because it ruined loot: "It turned the game into just being about coins"

But the devs do want to make trading more social and fun

GamesRadar

What’s on the cards for Arc Raiders in 2026? According to the game’s design lead there’s going to be a roadmap shared soon as well as multiple new maps throughout the year

Arc Raiders design lead Virgil Watkins has teased some of what's in store for 2026. The game will be getting multiple maps this year.

TechRadar

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Embark dev teases Arc Raiders 2026 roadmap with 'multiple maps coming this year' that span 'a spectrum of size'

The next roadmap is coming "sometime soon."

PC Gamer

"There are going to be multiple maps coming this year": Arc Raiders dev teases 2026 roadmap, and maybe some new maps "even grander than what we've got now"

Embark has big plans for Arc Raiders in 2026

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders lead admits putting together new loadouts is a pain when you want to just 'get in there and do stuff', says the game got a lot right but 'looking through a bunch of menus isn't necessarily it'

"If we can [...] get you through the front end faster, I think that's a great ambition."

PC Gamer

"The highest PvE damage output of any weapon" in Arc Raiders was from the underrated Bettina, dev confirms, and that was before it got buffed

Not counting the bugged and overpowered Hullcracker, of course

GamesRadar

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"Cost should not inherently fill a skill gap": Arc Raiders dev admits "we're definitely a bit off on some of the cost to benefit ratios" for guns like the Bobcat and Tempest, but says all weapons have to be usable

"If we're way under-shooting how people feel about that, then that'll take some adjustment"

GamesRadar

PvP is the reason Arc Raiders works – love it or hate it, even Embark's design lead says it "adds the spice"

Even if you always avoid PvP, you still benefit from PvP in Arc Raiders

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders lead is "super aware" of demand for custom loadouts that save us 100 clicks, admits he sometimes runs a free loadout because he can't be bothered making one

"Looking through a bunch of menus isn't necessarily" good, he says

GamesRadar

After un-fun "dark pattern" with 5 million coin Arc Raiders Expedition, design lead says "this system will change" – and you won't get bonus skill points forever

Less than half of the people who finished the first Arc Raiders Expedition earned all five skill points

GamesRadar

Even after its success, Embark design lead is still lukewarm on AI usage for Arc Raiders: 'I don't think it's fallen any way or the other'

Neutr-AI-lity.

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders has officially sold 12 million copies, so Embark's giving everyone a free gold hammer: "The way it took off, I think, took all of us by surprise"

If you've logged in a single time, you'll get the golden raider tool automatically

GamesRadar

Embark dispels myths about Arc Raiders' aggression-based matchmaking: 'We don't make any value or moral judgments … it's a bit of a blunt instrument'

Embark doesn't want you to feel penalized for choosing violence in Arc Raiders.

PC Gamer

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GamesRadar

"We can track who shoots first": Arc Raiders design lead says aggression-based matchmaking is "a bit of a misnomer," and "we don't do anything like skill-based matchmaking or gear-based"

"The one thing the system does not do is attempt to assume intent"

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders design lead confirms Embark is about make Trigger Nades much harder to use, and nerf Kettle insta-kills too: "You can't have it leave your hand and just blow it up immediately"

Design lead Virgil Watkins seeds the incoming balance patch

Benzinga

'Every Game Company' is Doing it? 'Arc Raiders' AI Scandal Explodes, Big Name CEO Suggests Hidden Truth

One should assume "every game company" is using AI, Nexon Co. Ltd. CEO Junghun Lee says. He is asking how companies can survive when “everyone is working with the same or similar technologies," maintaining that “human creativity” distinguishes exceptional games from mediocre ones.

GamesRadar

Embark makes free-to-play Arc Raiders sound like a nightmare, says its $40 price let it cut a lot of un-fun crap: "Crafting no longer has timers on it that you have to wait out"

I fear free-to-play Arc Raiders

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news in one place.

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PC Gamer

'One of the chillest communities I’ve ever encountered': Arc Raiders solos are choosing love over war, and it's beautiful

It's impolite to shoot at others in Arc Raiders, which is surprising for an extraction shooter but also beautiful.

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders lead says no goofy skins here as Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty players push for visual realism: "I don’t think the novelty is worth the trade"

"We're pretty protective of making sure that anything that goes into the game fits within the visual identity"

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders' design director says 'we will maintain the current aesthetic that we have' when it comes to skins, so no 'T-Rex costume running around'

But what about Left Shark?

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders' use of AI highlights the tension and confusion over where machine learning ends and generative AI begins

Embark Studios' contradictory statements about generative AI highlight what's sure to be a long-term industry debate.

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders designer says Marathon's reception 'was a great A/B test': 'They made decisions that we didn't, and vice versa … we could compare and contrast how some of those things shook out'

Both extraction shooters are hotly anticipated and gathering crucial feedback before launch.

PC Gamer

It got a lot of love, but Arc Raiders 'was absolutely not ready' to release after its popular April playtest, says design director: 'There were some bad bugs'

The time is almost here, though, as the highly-anticipated extraction shooter nears its October release date.

PC Gamer

Don't count on Arc Raiders ever getting a first-person mode: 'Once you start being able to put your face right up against an asset, it kind of falls apart'

Design director Virgil Watkins says it would take an awful lot of work to make a first-person mode for Arc Raiders.

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