ARC Raiders gameplay debut shows off what could be one of the most intriguing mechanics in an extraction shooter yet

ARC Raiders, the game that we only seem to cover when it gets delayed, actually has something exciting to share this time around. No, that’s still not a date, but it is a proper look at gameplay, with HUD on and everything.

This technically isn’t our first look at gameplay, but seeing as Arc Raiders has evolved from a co-op shooter (when it was initially announced back in 2021) into an extraction shooter, an updated look at just what kind of game it is now was certainly due.

ARC Raiders is the other major project in the works at Embark Studios, the team of DICE veterans that has so far shipped the excellent free-to-play multiplayer shooter The Finals. This week’s gameplay reveal trailer delivers around six minutes of footage, captured from a gameplay test held last month.

Before we get into the action, the trailer offers a quick recap of the premise, revealing more of the state of the world than we’d previously seen. In ARC Raiders, squads of up to three players venture out into the world to gather supplies, collect data and solve mysteries - all while staying alert for AI enemies and other players attempting to do the same.

Much of what's shown in this narrated trailer should be familiar to players of extraction shooters. There’s a lot of hunting for loot and performing of small tasks for rewards that players will, hopefully, survive long enough to bring back to base with them.

One of the more interesting mechanics shown in the trailer are red flares, which signal that a rival Raider got knocked down, effectively inviting others to investigate a certain area. This could, of course, be a result of a PvP clash or a simple PvE encounter.

It all ties into the way the game handles encounters with other players, because you’re not immediately expected to engage them. The trailer shows the player asking the rival to team up and split the loot. All of the action plays out in third-person, of course, but we only see a few basic firearms being used, which could indicate a sort of scarcity of powerful weapons.

ARC Raiders arrives sometime in 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.