There's just over a month until ARC Raiders — Embark Studios' highly anticipated PvPvE extraction shooter — officially lands on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5, with the game's full release date scheduled for October 30.
Developed by the team behind the popular free-to-play 2023 FPS The Finals, ARC Raiders has the potential to stand tall as one of 2025's most popular new multiplayer experiences when it drops. On the road to its release, it's garnered quite a big following, with tons of players flocking to try it out during closed playtests held last year and this spring.
Last month, Embark said that it's "not planning additional public tests before launch," disappointing many fans who were hopeful there would be another beta test ahead of the game's release. Now, though, it's come out that the studio has changed its mind, and is preparing one final playtest — and this one will be the largest one yet.
The surprising news came on Monday morning, with the developers announcing a public "Server Slam" open beta that will run across Xbox, PC, and PS5 from October 17-19. Notably, since it's an open test, all players across all of the game's platforms will be able to jump in freely.
You will need to make an Embark ID and link it to your account on your platform of choice, though you can actually do that ahead of time on the Embark Portal, that the developers have set up.
"No codes, no worries! Everyone’s welcome to the party," the post on social media reads, in reference to codes selectively given to players during previous playtests. "The Server Slam open test will be live on all platforms (Steam, Epic Games, PS5, Xbox X|S) from October 17th-19th; one last chance to take on the ARC before launch."
For the unaware, ARC Raiders takes place in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi world in which the surface of our world has been forcefully taken over by dangerous robotic machines called ARCs that are as mysterious as they are deadly. Their occupation has driven humanity underground, where the society of Speranza has formed; only scavengers called Raiders emerge, fighting both ARC and each other to claim the treasures above.
As is typical of the extraction shooter genre, the title features both PvE and PvP gameplay, with players driven to complete special quests and find valuable loot and gear as they roam the surface before escaping to safety underground. As you progress, you'll be able to unlock perks across Survival, Mobility, and Conditioning skill trees to build into specific playstyles.
As is typical of the extraction shooter genre, the title features both PvE and PvP gameplay, with players driven to complete special quests and find valuable loot and gear as they roam the surface before escaping to safety underground.
While the peak player count of ARC Raiders' previous playtests was limited by the fact that they required codes or developer-provided access, they were nevertheless quite popular, with this year's trial in spring achieving a record of 21,515 concurrent players according to SteamDB data.
That number is nothing to scoff at for a closed test, and it only represents players on Steam; the beta was available on Xbox, PS5, and the Epic Games Store, too.
Overall, interest in the game was so high that it even began to eat Marathon's lunch, as it undercut the beta Bungie was holding for its own upcoming extraction shooter at the time.
With that in mind, I have no doubt that a far, far greater number of players will jump into ARC Raiders while it's open for all to play — and evidently, that's exactly what Embark Studios is hoping for, given that this upcoming beta is being dubbed a "Server Slam."
You may recognize that moniker from 2023, when Blizzard Entertainment also called open beta tests for Diablo 4 a Server Slam. The developer wanted players to flood into the game and stress test its network infrastructure, and the same is now happening here.
Notably, this does mean that there may be some significant issues with ARC Raiders' servers over the course of this three-day open beta, so keep that in mind. Obviously, though, the final release will be all the better for it, as Embark will be able to identify these problems and (hopefully) fix them before launch day.
Notably, this does mean that there may be some significant issues with ARC Raiders' servers over the course of this three-day open beta, so keep that in mind. Obviously, though, the final release will be all the better for it.
Another thing to keep in mind is that progress made during the beta won't carry over to the full game, but participating in it will unlock a Server Slam-exclusive backpack (see the image above), a cosmetic you can wear.
I wasn't able to get into the title's previous play sessions, so I'm looking forward to finally being able to try it out come October 17-19. It'll be the last time you can without paying for a copy of the game, so if you're interested in seeing what the hype is about, you should check out the Server Slam too.
If you'd like to buy ARC Raiders now, though, you can, as preorders have finally gone live. On Xbox, Steam, Epic Games, and PS5, it's available for $39.99, with a pricier $59.99 Deluxe Edition also for sale that includes a large number of bonus cosmetics.
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