Embark Studios has announced a series of significant gameplay and balance adjustments for ARC Raiders, following extensive player feedback from the October Server Slam, which took place between October 17 and 19, 2025. With the full release of the highly anticipated extraction shooter set for October 30, the studio is making last-minute refinements to ensure a smoother and more engaging launch experience for players across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
Embark Studios, best known for the surprise success of its free-to-play arena shooter The Finals, is once again aiming to redefine a genre — this time with ARC Raiders, a sci-fi PvPvE shooter that blends cooperative and competitive gameplay. Initially announced at The Game Awards 2021 as a third-person co-op experience, ARC Raiders has since evolved into a large-scale extraction shooter where players must scavenge, survive, and battle robotic invaders known as “ARCs” in a ruined futuristic world.
Embark Studios Shares Server Slam Results and Feedback Changes
During the Server Slam weekend, hundreds of thousands of players took part, providing Embark with valuable insight into how ARC Raiders performs under heavy load. The developer released an official post-event breakdown revealing that 30 million rounds were played, 58 million ARCs destroyed, and 108,000 Queens — one of the game’s most dangerous enemies — were defeated. In total, over 2.3 million players were taken down by the game’s feared Rocketeer enemy type, showing just how punishing the battlefield can be.
Following the test, Embark confirmed that several balance and quality-of-life adjustments will be implemented before launch. Among the most notable changes:
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Flying ARCs will receive a nerf after feedback indicated they were “too perceptive” and difficult to avoid.
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The Dam Tower encounter has been re-tuned to be more balanced and better reflect the intended challenge curve.
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Visual performance and environmental effects are being optimized for smoother frame rates and more consistent gameplay across platforms.
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Server stability and matchmaking reliability have also been prioritized to ensure fewer disconnections and a better launch-day experience.
According to the studio, these updates reflect its commitment to community-driven development — a philosophy that helped The Finals evolve into one of the most successful free shooters of 2024.
A Competitive Field for Extraction Shooters
Despite its growing hype, ARC Raiders will face intense competition upon release. Escape from Tarkov, widely considered the genre’s benchmark, is preparing for its long-awaited Steam launch on November 15, followed by console releases sometime in 2026. Meanwhile, new titles like Marauders and Hyenas are also entering the extraction space, making this one of the most crowded markets in multiplayer gaming today.
Still, Embark Studios seems confident in its vision for ARC Raiders. With a striking art style, deep progression systems, and heavy emphasis on cooperation under pressure, the game could become one of 2025’s biggest multiplayer hits — if the upcoming fixes deliver on their promise.
