Although it’s been a little while since I last dipped my toes in, I’ve got nothing but love for Embark Studios’ work on The Finals. New shooters that feel genuinely fresh are hard to come by these days, and it’s currently attempting to work its magic all over again with ARC Raiders, its PvPvE extraction shooter. To help ARC Raiders along, Embark has now revealed a new playtest that will let Steam players try the game early, and it’s right around the corner.
Among the sea of upcoming multiplayer games with extraction elements, I’ll confidently say that ARC Raiders currently stands as the project I’m most excited about. That may change once I see more of Bungie’s Marathon (there’s no hiding my love for Destiny 2, after all) but right now, ARC Raiders is the game I want to get my hands on. As luck would have it, we’re all in with a chance of being able to play it in just a few days’ time.
Over on Steam this weekend, Embark will be hosting the ARC Raiders Tech Test, which should help the studio learn more about what the game will feel like in a live environment, spot some bugs, and of course get some valuable feedback on its gameplay loop from players.
ARC Raiders places you, your squad mates, and other teams in a world that’s full of valuable loot and resources that the underground settlement of Speranza desperately needs. Standing in your way are not just other players, but various types of AI-controlled robot enemies that range from tiny scout drones to enormous mechanical monsters. Alongside not getting killed, you of course have to get everything you’ve found back to an extraction point before they are all closed off and the match ends.
Existing genre stalwarts like Hunt Showdown and Escape From Tarkov have mastered this formula, and newcomers such as Delta Force are generating a lot of hype too. I’m really hopeful ARC Raiders manages to follow suit when it fully opens its doors, but for now, the Tech Test is your only route to playing it.
The ARC Raiders Tech Test runs from Thursday October 24 to Sunday October 27. While this will be the biggest external playtest for the game yet, only a select number of players will be invited, so there’s no guarantee you’ll get in. To be in with a chance, you’ll need to sign up for it over on the game’s Steam page here.
Unfortunately, if you don’t get it in, it seems you won’t actually get to see or learn more about ARC Raiders as a result of the Tech Test. Invitees will have to sign NDAs and will have to keep their experiences under wraps. “We want to introduce ARC Raiders to the world when the game is polished and ready and we need your help to keep the mystery and excitement alive while we finish the game,” Embark says in an announcement post.
I’m crossing my fingers that more official details won’t be too far away seeing as ARC Raiders is set for a 2025 launch, but until they arrive, here are some other great co-op games you and your friends can dive into. To see what else is on the horizon, our list of upcoming PC games will get you up to speed.
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