ARC Raiders devs admit they’re pushing the limits of performance. Still, they’re working on even bigger maps

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Recent player numbers show a lot of excitement for ARC Raiders this winter, with many participating in snowball fights – and falling victim to Jack Frost! We’ll also be sharing the first details about what’s planned for the game in 2026 soon.

Embark’s shooter game recently got a wintry makeover with the ‘Cold Snap’ update, which introduced snowy environments as a temporary map feature. With the in-game event now over, the developers have shared a new infographic highlighting its key moments.

Deadly frost and snowball victories

According to a post on X, cold weather conditions caused players to fall 3.5 million times.

Snowballs weren’t the most powerful weapon, but they were surprisingly effective at taking players down. While only 91 players were actually knocked out by them – remarkable considering each snowball did just 1 point of damage – they were used to defeat over 10,000 ARCs. This did require a lot of effort, with players throwing a total of 95 million snowballs, but thankfully, snowballs were a very inexpensive form of ammunition.

The players fully embraced the holiday season with lots of festive celebrations. They used 179 million candleberries to create numerous feasts, and lit up the sky with 2.9 million fireworks and 9.2 million firecrackers. Adding to the merriment, 108 players showcased their musical talents by playing instruments continuously for at least 20 minutes.

ARC Raiders in 2026

With winter now over in ARC Raiders, players are wondering what the developers have planned next. Lead designer Virgil Watkins recently told Games Radar that we’ll find out a large portion of the game’s roadmap for early 2026 “quite soon.”

We plan to share a detailed roadmap for the next few months very soon. We’re currently finalizing the schedule for releasing that information. You’re right about the kinds of content we’ll be offering – we’ll be releasing it gradually throughout the year.

The team is finalizing a few remaining details, but Watkins revealed that new, larger maps are coming to the game. A toxic swamp is also planned as a new location. The designer explained that Embark Studios aims to deliver new and exciting experiences in ARC Raiders, particularly through its environments, enemies, and the items players can find.

The team needs to monitor technical aspects, such as how well the servers are running. According to the game’s creator, servers can only support a limited number of players and large-scale areas before they become overloaded and crash. This also applies to the capabilities of players’ computers and devices.

We also need to think about how well the game runs technically. We have to consider how many players can be online and how much action can happen before the server gets overloaded. That impacts our design choices. We also look at how the game performs on players’ computers. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, for example, pushes the limits of performance with its large environments and the sheer amount of detail – buildings, objects, and characters – it displays.

Beyond the basic functionality, a lot of work goes into balancing how the game feels to play. We need to fine-tune things like how often enemies appear, how fast they move, how quickly areas become dangerous, and how many players and items are in each location. Getting all these elements right is key to creating a good experience.

I know map size isn’t everything in ARC Raiders, and it’s interesting that even though Blue Gate isn’t the biggest area, a journalist was already wondering if Embark Studios will make all the maps huge. It really comes down to how they use the space, and that’s where the developers can really shine. I’m hoping we get to see more details about that soon!

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2026-01-16 15:45