Do you have questions about Arc Raiders? We’ll give you the most important facts at a glance!
Need more information about Arc Raiders? Here you’ll find everything you need to know about Embark’s futuristic apocalyptic extraction shooter!
Release date
Game Pass
Single player
Crossplay
Game modes
Launch maps
Robot enemies
Base building (Speranza)
Weapons
Combat system
Character editor
Deluxe Edition
PC requirements
Arc Raiders release date
Arc Raiders will be released on October 30, 2025. According to the manufacturer, the servers are expected to go online at 10:30 a.m.
The release will take place simultaneously worldwide on PS5, PC (Steam and Epic), and Xbox Series consoles. Arc Raiders is not Free2Play, but costs $40 for the Standard Edition. There is no Early Access.
Arc Raiders in Game Pass
No, Arc Raiders will not be available in Game Pass at launch. However, it is possible that a partnership with Microsoft will be established at a later date and the shooter will be added to the lineup.
Single-player in Arc Raiders
In addition to duos and trios, Arc Raiders can also be played in solo mode if you can’t or don’t want to join a squad.
The matchmaking system will then preferentially place you on a server with other solo players – but it’s possible that there will also be groups there!
However, there is no offline single-player mode; Arc Raiders always remains PvPvE.
Crossplay in Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders supports full crossplay between all supported platforms (PC, PS5, Xbox Series). There are also cross-saves, so save files can be synchronized between platforms as long as you are logged in with the same Embark ID on each device.
Game modes in Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders has only one main mode. Up to three players (Raiders) venture together from the safety of the underground to the post-apocalyptic surface of the Earth.
There, other players and the eponymous Arcs—mysterious killer robots from orbit—lie in wait.
The goal of the game is to complete quests and collect loot, then escape the map alive. A round is limited to about 30 minutes. Typical for the genre: if you die, you lose all the items you brought with you on the raid due to permadeath.
The Maps of Arc Raiders
At its release on October 30, Arc Raiders will include four playable maps.
These open worlds are vast and peppered with NPC enemies, bosses, zones with special loot, and dynamic events.
The known maps are:
- Dam Battlegrounds (starter map with swamps and forests)
- Acerra Spaceport (spaceport with large industrial complex)
- Buried City (desert map with a city sunk in the sand)
- Blue Gate (mountain landscape, expected to be an endgame map)
- Stella Montis (no information yet, probably only after release)
- Training ground (only for the tutorial, no PvP here)
Each map has different exits to extract, but for some of them you will need certain items such as keys.
Map events: The maps appear in different variations, e.g., at night or during harvest time with more natural resources. In addition, electromagnetic storms, particularly rare arc bots, hidden bunkers, and more may appear.
The robot enemies of Arc Raiders
In the apocalyptic future of Arc Raiders, the planet’s surface, where the Raiders’ runs take place, is swarming with mysterious killer bots called Arc. No one knows where the robots really come from, but one thing is certain: they are deadly and smart!
Fighting these AI opponents in Arc Raiders is risky. On the one hand, depending on the variant, the bots are well-armored and heavily armed, and on the other hand, the sounds of battle naturally attract other players. The reward for the risk is valuable Arc components for crafting and XP.
The following Arc types are known so far:
- Tick: Small spider-like bots that usually stay indoors in packs and can climb along walls and ceilings and jump on players.
- Pop: A spherical bot filled with explosives that can roll towards players at high speed. The Pop explodes on contact with enemies.
- Fireball: A spherical bot very similar to the Pop, but which uses flamethrowers at close range. Once it opens up, its unarmored interior is visible.
- Surveyor: A spherical bot similar to the Fireball and Pop. It is unarmed and transmits signals to other Arcs. It attacks only extremely rarely.
- Leaper: An armored spider bot that can cover surprisingly long distances and heights by jumping. Attacks with melee attacks. Also called Bison.
- Bastion: This slow walker bot on four short legs is heavily armored and even more heavily armed. Fires a minigun and is often accompanied by flying Arcs.
- Bombardier: Four-legged walker mech like the Bastion, but equipped with a long-range mortar/grenade launcher. Often accompanied by drones.
- Snitch: Small flying Arc drone with three rotors. It has no weapons, but alerts other Arcs when Raiders are spotted and can call in Wasps.
- Wasp: Flying Arc reconnaissance drone with light weaponry and armor. Detects Raiders with a red laser and fires bursts of fire. Often appears in swarms.
- Hornet: Heavier variant of the Wasp with two distinctive rotors at the front. Detects Raiders with a red laser and fires shock projectiles with a stun effect that destroy shields.
- Rocketeer: The largest and most heavily armored flying unit in the Arc. Detects Raiders with four yellow laser beams and fires homing missiles from the air.
- Queen: Boss enemy of the Arc. This gigantic four-legged colossus only appears during certain events and is extremely deadly. Can only be defeated by well-coordinated groups with endgame gear.
Almost all Arc enemies have specific weak points where they are particularly vulnerable. Depending on the type and armor, different weapons, gadgets, and items can be helpful (or even necessary).
Base in Arc Raiders
Between runs on the surface, the Raiders return to the underground city of Speranza.
Here, quests can be accepted, items can be crafted using the crafting system, and permanent upgrades can be made via the skill tree.
However, this is not a physically accessible level or even a real base construction, but merely exists as a flat menu!
In the Speranza base, you will find, among other things:
- Menus for loadouts and gear management
- Merchants for purchasing items/crafting resources
- Personal trophy room (Raider Den)
- Scrappy, a rooster that collects components for you
- Character menu with skill tree
Weapons in Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders offers a smorgasbord of firearms with a rusty, apocalyptic look.
From assault rifles and shotguns to SMGs and sniper rifles, all the usual variants of the shooter genre are represented.
18 weapons will be available at the release of Arc Raiders. More are set to appear over the course of the upcoming season.
5 types of ammunition: Depending on the weapon type, light, medium, or heavy ammunition or shotgun shells are required.
Special energy weapons require batteries instead and are particularly effective in combat against Arc Bots.
Arc Raiders differs from many other shooters in a few key ways:
– Third-person perspective: The game is played from a third-person perspective; there is no first-person view.
- Third person: The game is played from a shoulder perspective; there is no first-person view.
- Movement: Good cover and evasive rolls are crucial in combat.
- Shields: Energy shields ensure a comparatively slow TTK.
- Downing: At 0 HP, you go down and can be revived (or killed completely).
- Voice Chat: You can talk to nearby players and form alliances on the fly.
- Stealth: Avoiding confrontations with players and Arc altogether is a valid tactic.
Character customization in Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders does not have fixed classes or hero characters. Instead, the outfit, loadout, and selected skills are independent of each other.
Raiders can be cosmetically customized in the following ways:
- Body type (stature)
- Outfit/Skin
- Face
- Hair/Hair Color
- Backpack
- Backpack Tag
- Headgear
- Emote
Versions and Deluxe Edition
Arc Raiders will be released in a Standard Edition (40 euros) and a Deluxe Edition (60 euros). The Deluxe Edition also includes:
- Valente Outfit (Skin)
- Pathfinder Backpack
- Backpack Tag
- Lip Scar Face Cosmetic
- Cowboy Outfit for Scrappy
- Emote “Finger Gun”
- 2,400 Raider Tokens (currency)
Pre-order customers of all editions will also receive the Lucky Duck Bundle, the Bruiser Bundle, and the Astro Bundle as bonus cosmetic content.
Engine and System Requirements
Arc Riders runs on a heavily modified version of Unreal Engine 5 and has been praised in beta testing for its extensive graphics settings and well-optimized performance.
The hardware requirements for your PC are as follows:
Minimum
- Operating system: Windows 10 or later 64-bit (latest update)
- Processor: Intel Core i5-6600K or AMD Ryzen R5 1600
- Memory: 12 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 580 or Intel Arc A380
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
Recommended
- Operating system: Windows 10 or later 64-bit (latest update
- Processor: Intel Core i5-9600K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or Intel Arc B570
- DirectX: Version 12
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
The final system requirements are so surprisingly low that they are causing quite a stir on Reddit and other sites (and a few side swipes at Borderlands 4).
