Congrats, you played yourself, Arc Raiders' machines aren't actually learning: 'That's just the way we author them'

Arc Raiders: A raider wearing a blue and orange space-age jumpsuit while fighting a Leaper. — (Image credit: Embark)

There's been a theory developing since launch that Arc Raiders' robots are reacting to players' habits and learning how to counter them. Stuff like searching spots we often hide in, or finding better angles to pick us off. I've even read one comment saying that the Arcs will soon start taking out rats because they know where they hide, and watched Leapers cram themselves into ever-tighter spaces.

The idea that the Arc might be evolving seems to stem from a talk given by Embark's Tom Soldberg, a machine learning software engineer, back in 2021, about how the studio used the tech to teach the in-game enemies how to move and navigate the environment organically, rather than animating it all themselves.

Virgil Watkins

Watkins joined Embark Studios as a senior technical designer in October 2021, going on to serve as Arc Raiders' design director since February 2022.

Last week, Arc Raiders' design director, Virgil Watkins, told us that any examples of smart behaviour are the hard work of Embark's AI designers and engineers: "That's just us in the way we author them". He also pointed out that Embark only uses AI in the original videogame sense, not anything LLM-related.

"The machine learning is literally only for teaching them to walk and navigate the environment. It doesn't do any of their behaviours or their attacks or anything like that."

Look, I hate to be the one to burst that bubble, but at least you're safe in the knowledge that pulling off cool moves or finding sneaky hiding spots isn't a threat to your future self or another player. The Arcs are terrifyingly smart, but at least they're not learning. And even in their existing state, they are more than capable of doing some truly messed-up stuff:

Instant karma for a Stella rat from r/ArcRaiders

Read our full interview with Embark's Virgil Watkins tomorrow.

Rory has made the fatal error of playing way too many live service games at once, and somehow still finding time for everything in between. Sure, he’s an expert at Destiny 2, Call of Duty, and more, but at what cost? He’s even sunk 1,000 hours into The Elder Scrolls Online over the years. At least he put all those hours spent grinding challenges to good use over the years as a freelancer and guides editor. In his spare time, he’s also an avid video creator, often breaking down the environmental design of his favourite games. If you can’t track him down, he’s probably lost in a cave with a bunch of dwarves shouting “rock and stone” to no end.

With contributions from

Tim Clark

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.