Featured Image Credit: Embark Studios
Topics: ARC Raiders
When Arc Raiders first released at the end of last year, few people could have predicted just how popular it was going to prove to be among the amassed audience, with the game blowing past records on all platforms to become one of the great success stories of 2025.
Developed by Embark Studios, it’s a remarkably polished and impressive extraction shooter that needed very little iteration from its initial form to make it genuinely fun and playable in the long term.
That said, there are always areas for potential improvement, and the development team is actively looking at the most egregious issues to work on while the iron is still hot.
Now, one issue in particular keeps cropping up in Arc Raiders, and the development team has responded to let fans know exactly what’s going on.
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In a conversation with GamesRadar+, design lead Virgil Watkins went into detail on the difficulties the game has in making those who join a raid late feel like they’re using their time in a worthwhile way.
"That's also another topic we've been discussing a lot," Watkins explained, "and it's another one of those interesting things of data versus perception. We 100% acknowledge the whole thing of, 'Man, I came in to do that trial and now I clearly don't have enough time to do that, and that sucks, so I'm just going to leave,' or whatever. That aspect is definitely not great.
"But similar to the perception of free kits versus what they do, the perception around late joining and what it affords you has been quite interesting."
"Players are like, 'The loot's all gone,' or whatever else. But players who late join economically profit way more than people who aren't. The session, when they are fresh, does eventually get quieter, and very often they come across the remnants of fights or can maybe take out bigger drones or hit high-ticket areas more readily than other players. So that's been a very interesting thing to look at."
To be fair to the devs, striking the right balance is a genuinely difficult task and one that needs constant attention if they are to keep the player base happy.
Making sure players who join raids late but still contribute are sufficiently rewarded is a big part of that, but ensuring they aren't penalised in any way is just as big of a consideration if things don't go so well.