ARC Raiders, a free-to-play PvPvE sandbox extraction adventure developed by Embark Studios received an October 30th release date along with a release date trailer. The cinematic trailer showed no gameplay, which is a huge bummer. But the release date was a welcome one. Let’s take a look.
The cinematic trailer looks good but why have a release date reveal trailer with no gameplay footage? This is especially disappointing considering developer, Embark Studios, has shown off the game several times already. Of course, if you’ve been following ARC Raiders you’ll know it was originally announced for 2022. Since then it’s gone through several delays and it looks like we’re finally seeing a release this fall.
Last month, ARC Raiders had their second tech test that apparently had, “hundreds of thousands” of players playing on both PC and consoles getting an early look at the game. Aleksander Grøndal, Executive Producer had this to say about the tech test:
The tech test was the best rehearsal we could get, ahead of what’s shaping up as a big release this fall. It’s clear that players recognize the passion, effort, and craftsmanship that’s been poured into the making of ARC Raiders. The test also honed in on concrete things we’re addressing in this last stretch of development. There are bugs to squash, as well as general polish and performance improvements to be done. We’re also fine-tuning game balance and the player economy, and will work on an even better onboarding experience for players who come in new to this genre. At release, the game will be further expanded, with more locations to explore, more adventures to embark on, and more for players to strive towards and discover.
With an incredibly long development time, it’s no surprise Embark will be tuning up Arc Raiders until and shortly after release. Considering the love Embark gives The Finals, it’s a safe bet that Arc Raiders will continue receiving both a heavy stream of content and updates in the following years.
Bizarrely enough, last year they announced the game wouldn’t be free-to-play. Yet, the press release confirms free-to-play. Oh well.
Editor’s Note: Wouldn’t you know it, a correction came through. Looks like ARC Raiders is being sold as a premium game and will be selling for $40 USD.
ARC Raiders will finally release on October 30th, 2025 for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and cloud streaming through NVIDIA GeForce Now. Stay tuned to MonsterVine for ongoing coverage of Embark Games and ARC Raiders.
