Final Playtest Before Launch
This weekend marks the final public playtest for the highly anticipated sci-fi extraction shooter, Arc Raiders, ahead of its official launch scheduled for the end of October. Following a successful playtest in April, many players expressed their eagerness for an immediate release, feeling that the game was already polished enough for public enjoyment.
During the April playtest, Arc Raiders received favorable comparisons to a concurrent Marathon playtest, with players praising its technical stability. Despite the enthusiasm from the community for an unexpected launch, design director Virgil Watkins emphasized that the game was “absolutely not ready,” as he shared in a recent interview with PC Gamer.
In a recent blog post, the developers introduced a unique feature called Expeditions, designed to address concerns about server resets. This system allows dedicated players to voluntarily forfeit their progress in exchange for the satisfaction of starting anew, reminiscent of Call of Duty’s Prestige system. This approach encourages players to embrace a fresh experience without the weight of previous unlocks and attachments.
Balance remains a key focus for the development team. “People thankfully thought it was in a pretty good state [in the April playtest], but we have the telemetry,” Watkins remarked with a chuckle. “We know certain things were not exactly doing what they should have.” In the realm of live service games, a successful launch often hinges on having new content ready to roll out shortly after the initial release.
Watkins also noted that since the last tech test, a new map has been added, with hints of a fifth map that players will soon be able to explore. The team is committed to enhancing the game with new item sets, enemy types, and dynamic map conditions, including night raids, which were showcased in the previous tech test.
As Arc Raiders prepares for its launch on October 30, the upcoming server slam has already shown promising engagement, with over 185,000 concurrent players on Steam at last check. However, it is important to note that the full game will not be free like the playtests. Following the success of Helldivers 2, developer Embark made the strategic decision to shift from a free-to-play model to a price tag last year. Watkins expressed relief regarding this change, as it allows the team to concentrate on creating enjoyable crafting and progression systems without the constant need to entice players with cosmetic incentives.
