Embark Studios’ extraction shooter ARC Raiders is slated for full release on October 30. The game ran a Technical Beta on April 30 and followed up with a three-day “Server Slam” from October 17 to 19, signaling that launch is imminent.

ARC Raiders is an extraction shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity struggles against a mysterious machine army known as the ARC. Players become “Raiders,” members of the human resistance, and throw themselves into brutal fights against ARC patrols roaming the surface—plus other Raiders who stand in their way—in a desperate competition to survive.

During the three-day Server Slam held on October 17, we were able to sample about five hours of gameplay, including the Dam battleground map. It was only a thin slice of the whole experience, but it was enough to grasp the kind of story ARC Raiders wants to tell and the sensations it wants to deliver.

Resources are life itself

ARC Raiders takes place in 2180 on a ravaged Earth. After civilization collapsed under assault from the enigmatic ARC, humanity built the underground city of Speranza beneath the lands of old Italy and scratched out a living there as a base of operations. But as with any “ark” in other media, Speranza is rife with incidents and conflicts.

▲ A post-apocalypse backdrop meets retro-futurist visuals

The biggest source of conflict is scarce resources. To address that scarcity, players head topside as Raiders to conduct perilous expeditions. The objective is simple: secure loot and survival materials, then make it back alive. The reality is anything but. Hostile Raiders, ARC patrols, and unpredictable ambushes and pursuits constantly threaten you. You’ll need to master the deceptively simple but deadly arts of fighting, looting, and extraction. Successful runs open the door to crafting and upgrades, but every expedition is a gamble—and at the same time, a key that can unlock hidden truths.

▲ The ARC’s mysterious robots aren’t your only problem…

▲ …Raiders fighting over limited resources are just as dangerous

▲ The future of humanity’s last city, Speranza, rests in your hands

Cooperate—or compete to the death

The gameplay loop is straightforward: within a set time limit, gather as many resources as possible on the surface and extract safely back to Speranza. You use what you bring back to craft new gear and upgrade your hideout—that’s the core of progression.

But the surface is packed with threats—from ARC combat machines that want you dead to other Raiders who want the goods you just risked your neck to find. Even if you haul in a mountain of loot, dying means losing everything you gathered that run. That’s why you plan not only your “good item” farming routes but also a meticulous path for a safe return to Speranza.

▲ Scavenging a variety of resources topside is the foundation of the game

▲ Think a farming spot looks “too safe”? Something’s probably very wrong

▲ Bag enough, leave cleanly, and you’ve done it right

Your first enemies topside are the ARC’s mysterious machines. The ARC field a range of unit types and tiers, and naturally, taking down stronger, higher-tier enemies yields better spoils. In this Server Slam we encountered everything from scouting drones like Wasp, Hornets, and Snitch to the colossal Queen. Lightweight scouts are largely soloable, but sturdier units like the Rocketeer and Reaper—and especially boss-class threats like the Queen—are tough asks alone.

▲ Recon drone “Wasp”

▲ The "Reaper"

▲ …and the gargantuan ARC “Queen”

▲ Mix and match your arsenal to crack each ARC type

That doesn’t mean solo players are locked out of high-value targets. Remember: ARC Raiders is PvPvE survival where NPCs and players clash at the same time. In other words, you can team up with other Raiders to bring down the ARC—or, of course, hunt the players who are busy fighting the NPCs. If you keep your head on a swivel, read the environment, and play tactically, you can absolutely secure top-tier loot on your own… though it’s safe to assume everyone else is thinking the same thing.

▲ Let’s be honest—the best farming is often “farming people,” right?

An extraction shooter with the fear dialed down

Once you enter Speranza, you get a personal nook to call home, and this is where you produce materials and craft gear. The crafting menu initially looks overwhelming, but it clearly tells you what materials you need and where they drop, so you won’t have to alt-tab to search “where to farm X” on the internet.

Certain unique materials for specific equipment do require you to take down ARC units. Because looting is streamlined compared to many extraction shooters, the game prevents things from getting dull by nudging Raiders into skirmishes over ARC kills—a smart way to generate friction and excitement.

▲ A private room? Now that’s VIP hospitality

▲ Craft a spread of gear and consumables here

Even if your escape fails, not everything from that session goes up in smoke. There’s a distinct “Safe Pocket” inventory that can be recovered on death, ensuring you bank at least one essential or rare material per run. That takes some of the pressure off the competitive grind.

There’s also a separate skill system, so your character grows a little every match even if your farming comes up empty. If ARC Raiders sits somewhere between TPS and RPG, it leans a bit toward the RPG side. Because you don’t lose literally everything on death and start over, the genre’s signature dread is noticeably softened.

▲ The invincible stash you can recover even if you die—the “underpants Safe Pocket”

▲ Even failed extractions push your build forward through skills

Can it become a new standard-bearer for the genre?

Extraction shooters have long been dominated by a few titles. Their edge-of-your-seat survival, high-risk/high-reward loop has earned fierce loyalty from core gamers—but the steep learning curve and unforgiving difficulty have made the genre intimidating for many. I’m one of the players who waved the white flag at that high barrier to entry.

Now a new challenger has stepped into the ring. If ARC Raiders manages to preserve the genre’s essence while opening the door to a broader audience, it could become more than an imitator—it could stand as another emblem of the extraction shooter genre in its own right. As we prep for dangerous forays topside and choices that decide Speranza’s fate, I’m eager to see whether ARC Raiders can carve out a new horizon for the genre.

ARC Raiders is locked for an October 30 full release, with play available from day one on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox.