Arc Raiders has quickly become one of the most successful extraction shooters in recent memory. After selling more than 12 million copies worldwide and maintaining a healthy player base on Steam, Embark Studios is now positioned to think bigger, push harder, and deliver more ambitious content throughout 2026. Recent interviews—particularly with Lead Designer Virgil Watkins—have given us a detailed look at what is coming next, from entirely new maps to weapon rebalancing and long-requested quality-of-life systems.

If you're one of the many players hooked on Arc Raiders right now, here is everything you need to know about the future of the game.

A New Era for Arc Raiders: Re-Evaluated Roadmaps & Bigger Ambitions

With the game’s surprise commercial success, Embark is actively reassessing its roadmap. The development team has more resources and, importantly, more freedom to pursue ideas that were previously out of scope.

A formal public roadmap is expected soon, but several major features have already been confirmed or alluded to:

· Multiple new maps

· Weapon balance improvements

· A custom loadout system

· Expanded PvE “Ark” encounters

· Adjusted expedition reward structure

· Potential for a fully explorable social hub

Let’s break down each in detail.

New Maps: Multiple Releases, Revamps, and Large-Scale Environments

One of the biggest confirmed additions for 2026 is a steady cadence of new maps, both large and small. Embark plans to deploy:

· Major map expansions

· Full new maps

· Smaller-scale maps

· Revamped or refreshed map zones

This approach mirrors the seasonal map rotation strategy seen in other extraction shooters, such as Delta Force, which many players praised for its pacing and variety.

While Embark has not yet named the upcoming map locations, the community has been digging through concept art. Notable speculation includes a coastal volcanic region with massive bridges, based on shared artwork highlighted. If realized, this biome could deliver some of the most visually striking and mechanically unique environments in the game.

A Fully Explorable SOCIAL HUB for Sparanza?

One of the earliest ideas conceived for Arc Raiders—an explorable social hub in Sparanza—may finally come to life.

The concept resembles Destiny’s Tower, offering:

· Player interaction spaces

· NPC vendors

· Customization areas

· Environmental storytelling

Originally cut due to budget limitations, the social hub is now back on the table. That said, Embark is being cautious: they want to ensure players can still do everything via menus, so the hub doesn’t become mandatory or inconvenient.

Considering the popularity of “player housing” features—like the now-infamous rubber duck collections—an optional full hub could be a massive hit.

Weapon Rebalancing: High-Tier Weapons Finally Getting Their Due

A major pain point for players has been the poor performance-to-cost ratio of high-rarity weapons such as the Tempest and Bobcat. Many lower-tier weapons outperform their purple and gold counterparts, making expensive ARC Raiders items feel pointless.

Watkins acknowledged this directly: “We’re definitely a bit off on some of the cost-to-benefit ratios… We want people to be excited to get a Tempest or Bobcat.”

The philosophy remains that higher rarity should not automatically win gunfights, but it should provide meaningful advantages. Expect:

· Damage tweaks

· Handling improvements

· Cost reductions

· Augment reworks

· More distinctive weapon roles

If executed well, players will have real incentives to bring premium gear into raids—without undermining Arc Raiders’ emphasis on skill.

Custom Loadouts: A Major Quality-of-Life Overhaul

Crafting attachments, slotting augments, building meds, restocking ammo—between-raid prep is one of the most tedious parts of Arc Raiders. Even the developers admit they often run free loadouts because it’s simply faster.

A fully featured custom loadout system is now officially planned.

The system is described as:

· Resource-aware

· Intelligent (autofills shortages)

· Fast and raid-ready

Watkins explained the planned system as one that “attempts to do the best job to fulfill your request,” even if you are short on resources. This could transform the cadence of gameplay, making back-to-back raids significantly smoother—much like the streamlined system used in Delta Force.

Expanding PvE: New Ark Threats & Escalating Encounters

Expect PvE experiences to grow dramatically. Watkins hinted at:

· New Ark variants

· New encounter types

· New environmental threats

· Situational alliances or temporary truces

· More dynamic raid situations

He also spoke about escalating the Ark’s role in the world, giving players new situations where they may need to improvise or “create a nobody-gets-out-alive scenario.”

This direction aligns with the lore, which includes wild concepts such as human factions escaping into space. The addition of the Shredder already showed how impactful a single Ark variant can be—scale that up, and the PvE potential becomes enormous.

Economy & Trading: More Vendors, No Auction House

Embark originally prototyped an auction house, but found it shifted player behavior toward coin farming instead of item chasing. To protect the game’s health, that system was cut.

However:

· More vendors

· More item types

· Expanded trading opportunities

…are confirmed and in development.

The goal is to give players more meaningful acquisition options without enabling market-manipulation playstyles that damage progression balance.

Expeditions: A Rework on the Horizon

The last expedition revealed an unintended “dark pattern”: players ran only free or ultra-cheap loadouts to hoard money, chasing the 5 million requirement for full skill-point rewards. Embark does not want expeditions to devolve into ARC Raiders coins-farming marathons.

Expect major changes, including:

· Lower money requirements

· Progression-based thresholds

· Alternate objectives

· More varied reward structures

Most importantly, Embark confirmed that skill points will NOT be expedition rewards forever. At some point, players will hit the cap, and expeditions will need new incentives to remain compelling. This raises big questions about future reward systems—but also suggests Embark wants expeditions to evolve into something more than seasonal reset grinds.

Looking Ahead: The Biggest Year Yet for Arc Raiders

From new maps and improved gear systems to expanded PvE threats and long-overdue quality-of-life improvements, 2026 is shaping up to be the game’s most ambitious year yet.

A formal roadmap is on the way, but even without it, the direction is clear: Arc Raiders is expanding significantly. If Embark executes on these plans, the game may transition from “surprise hit” to a legitimate long-term flagship in the extraction shooter genre.