Arc Raiders: Late Spawns Lead to Greater Economic Profit, Senior Lead Confirms

Arc Raiders who spawn into maps late actually tend to profit more economically, according to a recent interview with design lead Virgil Watkins. Published by GamesRadar, the matter on delayed spawns was addressed head on, as well as whether or not it's good for the players who find themselves a bit late to the party. It turns out, based on the data Embark Studios can see, these players actually tend to extract with more cash in their pockets. "But similar to the perception of free kits versus what they do, the perception around late joining and what it affords you has been quite interesting. Players are like, 'The loot's all gone,' or whatever else. But players who late join economically profit way more than people who aren't," Watkins said. "The session, when they are fresh, does eventually get quieter, and very often they come across the remnants of fights or can maybe take out bigger drones or hit high-ticket areas more readily than other players. So that's been a very interesting thing to look at." Watkins elaborated, stating that the purpose of late spawns was to make sure that maps weren't largely barren of players after around 10 minutes, keeping games fresh throughout the entirety of the game. The team had hoped that players entering a match late would be happy to pivot to alternative goals if they didn't have time to achieve what they initially wanted. However, in limited-time events or locked rooms, Embark does acknowledge that a genuine sense of frustration is present. Watkins would confirm that the matter of late spawns is being looked into, to try and find a balance between keeping maps populated and removing that feeling of missing out on stuff at no fault of your own. "With things like trials, where that is the only objective, then fine, that's kind of off the table and that really sucks, because that was the time you had set aside for it. I think trying to do more on that side of things is where I want to look next. Coming in with a dedicated purpose and that's been undercut by the late join is where I'd want to remove the pain point first."