Embark Studios is reportedly experimenting with larger squad sizes in ARC Raiders as the studio continues shaping the future of its extraction shooter.
According to comments shared by Executive Producer Aleksander Grøndal, the development team has been testing different group-size concepts internally. While nothing has been officially confirmed yet, the goal appears to be creating new strategic challenges and expanding gameplay variety for players.
At the moment, ARC Raiders supports squads of up to three players, but Embark is exploring what larger teams could bring to the experience. That could mean simple squad expansions to four or five players, but it may also open the door for larger PvE-focused encounters against massive ARC machines.
Bigger PvE Encounters Could Return
The idea of larger-scale PvE fights has immediately caught the attention of the community, especially longtime followers who remember earlier versions of ARC Raiders leaning more heavily into cooperative PvE gameplay before the game evolved into its current extraction-based structure.
Embark appears interested in maintaining the game’s sandbox-style approach, allowing different types of players to enjoy the experience in their own way. Even with possible squad-size increases, the studio says preserving flexibility and player freedom remains a major priority.
That philosophy has helped ARC Raiders steadily grow since its August 2025 launch. Over time, the game softened some of its harsher extraction mechanics and introduced more accessible systems, helping it reach a broader audience beyond hardcore extraction shooter fans.
Monthly Updates Are Being Replaced
Embark is also making major changes to how future content updates will be delivered.
The studio confirmed that monthly major updates are no longer sustainable for long-term development. Instead, ARC Raiders will move toward two large content expansions per year, while a dedicated live team handles patches, smaller gameplay additions, balancing, and limited-time events in between.
One example already arriving this month is a new endgame Trader vendor, which will act as part of the ongoing live-service support between the larger seasonal-style updates.
October’s Frozen Trail update reportedly became the largest content release the game has received so far, and Embark now wants to focus on building fewer but much larger updates moving forward.
Long-Term Plans Continue for 2026
Alongside gameplay experimentation, Embark is also preparing broader changes for 2026, including regional pricing adjustments and additional long-term evolutions for the game.
While many of these ideas are still in the experimental phase, the direction suggests Embark sees ARC Raiders as a long-term project rather than a short-lived extraction shooter experiment.
For now, players should expect continued testing, evolving systems, and a stronger focus on large-scale content drops instead of rapid monthly expansions.
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