Arc Raiders Joins Battlefield 6 In The Struggle In opposition to Goofy Skins

Individuals on-line appear bored with crossover skins and silly cosmetics in video games like Name of Obligation and Battlefield. And now one of many lead devs behind on-line shooter Arc Raiders has promised that you just received’t see Santa Claus or dinosaur outfits within the newly launched live-service recreation.

The most recent huge hit on Steam is multiplayer extraction shooter Arc Raiders. It launched on October 30 on consoles and PC and quickly racked up over 200k concurrent players on Steam. And being an internet recreation in 2025 means providing up cosmetics for gamers to earn or buy. Arc Raiders is not any exception, promoting gamers skins in the event that they so need. However this yr has additionally marked a turning level on-line in regard to in-game cosmetics. Gamers appear much less keen to place up with foolish crossover skins and goofy cosmetics. This has led to an entire ongoing pores and skin saga involving Battlefield 6, which has promised not to include those kinds of items, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which arguably started the backlash we’re seeing and has backpedaled on permitting foolish skins from BLOPS6 to maneuver ahead into the upcoming FPS. And now the design director for Arc Raiders has weighed in on the subject and claimed the workforce is “protective” of the shooter’s visible id.

“What I believe to be true is that we will maintain the current aesthetic that we have,” Arc Raiders design director Virgil Watkins told PCgamesN when requested about foolish skins. “[Cosmetics] will fit within our sensibilities of how these things look and fit within the world and inside the fiction.” And whereas the devs and artists at Embark wish to present gamers with “as much freedom as possible” to precise themselves, there are limits.

“I think it was said a little while ago in a meeting [that] we would never, say, make a Santa Claus outfit,” defined Watkins.

“But we may make something that is of our own tone and our own aesthetic that evokes Santa Claus. That’s not even a statement that we will have a Santa Claus outfit, but I think that’s kind of the line you can draw. We’re pretty protective of making sure that anything that goes into the game fits within the visual identity, fits within the tone, fits within the setting. I think because so much of our game is strong around that element, it would be really unfortunate to upset that by injecting, I don’t know, a T-Rex costume running around suddenly – I don’t think the novelty is worth the trade.”

Watkins’ reply highlights the issue of attempting to stroll the road between not disrupting your recreation’s visible id whereas additionally nonetheless providing skins individuals are keen to purchase. It is a downside Battlefield 6 is facing right now as it enters its first season. Whereas most of the skins added to the sport within the current replace look fairly reasonable to me, many different gamers on-line are livid about all the colours. One pores and skin even had its neon inexperienced toned down after gamers complained sufficient. Whereas that is perhaps seen as a victory for some, it results in a wierd scenario the place different gamers may not wish to purchase the sport’s battle go or spend cash on new skins as a result of they’re too boring or plain.

Threading that needle is proving tough for EA, will probably be difficult for Black Ops 7, and I think it will likely be an issue for Arc Raiders, too. All it takes is one skin to be a bit too silly or colourful, and all of a sudden, the neighborhood would possibly activate you and use your personal phrases in opposition to you. Good luck to all devs engaged on live-service video games in 2025. It seems like a nightmare.