The Finals Prime Time Update Is Live via Patch 1.000.159
Embark is pushing the envelope with today’s update for The Finals, as this features rebuilt destruction, remastered maps, a new Light playstyle and more.
Called the Prime Time Update, gamers will see this as The Finals update 1.000.159, and this should be a big download on both consoles and PC.
Read on for our overview of the new content, as well as the complete patch notes.
The Finals Prime Time Update Delivers Dynamic Destruction Overhaul and It’s a F2P Game!
The tl;dr of Prime Time includes:
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Destruction and Dynamism Upgrade: The biggest destruction update since launch, featuring gradual destruction, dynamic collapsing structures, enhanced explosion physics, new debris pile system and improved smoke and gas systems.
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Dynamic Commentary (BETA): In-game caster Scotty will call out players by name and react to standout gameplay moments in real time, creating a more immersive and personalized game show experience. This feature is launching as a Beta as it gets tested in a wider environment.
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Remastered Maps + Game Show Improvements: Major updates to Monaco, Seoul, and Skyway Stadium, introducing new gameplay opportunities, improved traversal and distinct visual identities for more dynamic and immersive arenas.
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HUD + UI Rework: Customizable Quick Settings, redesigned HUD and menus, improving readability, navigation and accessibility, with a new side panel and a cleaner interface for a smoother, more intuitive experience.
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Solo Showdown (BETA): A new 12-player core mode for solo-queuers. Contestants will face off against 11 other players across three elimination rounds of fast-paced, randomized returning and brand-new mini-modes.
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New Light Playstyle: A new Light playstyle, “The Infiltrator,” focused on stealth, detection and mobility. The new playstyle features three new tools: True Sight to reveal enemies, the Mimic Device to disguise as props and the Translocator to swap positions with objects.
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New Sponsors Journey: A new narrative journey, introducing new sponsor quests, deeper progression, a new Handler system and more meaningful choices to build one’s career with a sponsor.
Want something a lot meatier to chew on? We got you! Read on for the official patch notes.
ARENA UPDATES | REWORK & VISUAL UPGRADES
PRIME TIME isn’t just about how the Arena breaks, it’s about how it looks, feels and plays. This season we’ve given several of your favorite Arenas a major pass, with visual upgrades all tied together by a brand new, game-wide lighting system. Some of these Arenas also offer layout reworks across the board, bringing new gameplay opportunities for you to discover.
A new coat of paint, everywhere
We’ve carried out a complete rework of lighting and post-processing across THE FINALS, giving the whole game a richer, more polished look. On top of that, we’ve refreshed environmental props, Arena branding, and sponsor decals across every Arena for better visual consistency, and updated the jumbotrons in various Arenas so each one matches its own unique style.
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MONACO
Monaco gets significant changes, starting with visual upgrades featuring reworked house interiors with new structural walls, penthouses, and attics. Beyond the fresh look, several areas of the Arena have been completely redesigned with new cover, flanking routes, buildings and objective spaces. All of these changes combined with the destruction overhaul brings new combat options for you to learn and choose.
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SEOUL
Seoul has been polished and reworked across the Mall, Data Center, Hospital, Apartments, and Under Construction, with updated storefronts, lighting, signage, interior props, and vegetation. Alongside the visual refresh, we’ve added a new building, new cover, new routes, and a new Cashout Station to create cleaner, more readable fights.
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SKYWAY STADIUM
Skyway Stadium sees updated interior visuals across its buildings, paired with a full redesign of the Mansion diorama and layout changes to the Office, Hotels, and Shopping District aimed at creating fairer, more varied playspaces.
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LAS VEGAS STADIUM
Las Vegas Stadium gets reworked power positions and sight lines across the Center, OSPUZE Casino, and ALFA ACTA Casino. The fan-favorite Sandstorm variant returns! We’re also saying goodbye for now to the original Las Vegas map and reintroducing Las Vegas Sandstorm!
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GAME SHOW EVENTS
We’ve shaken up the Game Show Event rotation this season. Low Gravity has been replaced by the Double Jump event, letting you jump twice straight out of the gate for a fresh way to take to the skies.
At launch, a special mode where you can play Cashout featuring these four Arenas will be available so you can check out all of these changes immediately!
DYNAMISM | DESTRUCTION OVERHAUL
This season we’re bringing the biggest update to the destruction system since launch, the beating heart of THE FINALS, with several brand new features.
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GRADUAL DESTRUCTION
Buildings can now hinge, sag, bend, and deform. The result is more unique playspaces every single time you drop in. Gradual Destruction is enabled game-wide, and every map has had its destruction completely rebalanced to make the most of it.
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SWINGING SUSPENDED STRUCTURES
All Suspended Structures have been converted into more dynamic Swinging Structures. They now hang from physics-enabled attachments allowing them to swing freely on their connecting ropes when destruction occurs.
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BLAST WAVES
Explosions have never felt more impactful. With our new Blast Waves feature, the environment and debris will move, walls will dent, trees can snap, and objects can fly, opening up even more opportunities for dynamism and emergent chain reactions.
The following items can now generate Blast Waves: Breach Charge, Breach Drill, Thermal Bore, C4, RPG-7, Frag Grenade, CL-40, MGL-32, Explosive Canisters, Oil Barrels, Alien Invasion, Retro Invasion 82, Orbital Lasers, and Meteor Showers.
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DEBRIS PILES
We’ve enhanced the aftermath of destruction too, with debris piles that dynamically grow and form as buildings crumble. These piles leave the environment with even more opportunities for dynamism while visually bringing the battle’s aftermath to life.
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DESTRUCTION AUDIO & VISUAL UPDATES
New audio and particle effects make the fragile, weakened state of partially destroyed buildings easier to read, and we’ve refreshed the visuals for debris and the destroyed environment with new textures and edge models.
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DYNAMIC SMOKE & TOXIC GAS
Our smoke and toxic gas cloud systems have been completely reworked. Smoke Grenades and Powder Canisters, along with all Toxic Gas sources, now emits clouds that are more dynamic than ever. Their shape adheres to the environment around them and can even be partially suppressed by explosions for a brief period of time. This forms a new foundation for smoke that we’ll keep building on in future updates.
We’ve also upgraded the physics engine to handle the extra load from the new destruction tech and keep your experience smooth!
NEW PLAYSTYLE | THE INFILTRATOR
The Infiltrator has now made the Arena their home, bringing a new layer of chaos with their ways to camouflage! This brings a new Specialization and two new gadgets to the Light Playstyle!
Learn more about the new Specialization and gadgets below!
- TRUE SIGHT
Trouble spotting your opponents with all that debris? With True Sight you can reveal opponents through smoke. Even Contestants that are cloaked or disguised! - MIMIC DEVICE
With the new Mimic Device you can scan objects in the world and then disguise yourself as them, letting you hide even in plain sight, like a chameleon. - TRANSLOCATOR
Need to make a quick escape or sneak up on your opponents? Mark an object in your surroundings and, within range, swap position with that object on demand!
NEW GAME MODE | SOLO SHOWDOWN
Solo Showdown is a brand new way to experience the Game Show as a solo player, debuting in beta as we work to improve the experience!
Compete in a Tournament format and earn as much Cash as possible. Twelve Contestants, three rounds, the four Contestants with the least Cash are eliminated and the one with the most Cash at the end of the final round is the champion.
Each round is randomly selected among 8 available mini-modes, including some familiar ones!
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BLAST OFF!
Soar through the air at high velocity equipped with a Grenade Launcher, and a Dash ability
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HEAVY HITTERS
Bonk your opponents off the Arena with your Sledgehammer and Charge‘n’Slam. The lower your health, the further you fly!
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BOOM BRAWL
Give no quarter to your opponent, Slash and Dash around with your Sword. Avast ye! Eliminated Contestants will leave an explosive surprise behind
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SLAM-A-RAMA
Did you ever dream of a Heavy with Jumppad? Well now it’s real. Rise up with your Jumppad and crash back down with an overpowered Charge’n’Slam
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SNIPER STANDOFF
Take aim, and shoot accurately! Use your Grapple Hook to reposition quickly and snipe your opponents
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WINCH WARS
Use your extended Winch and supercharged kicks and punches to knock opponents off the edge
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TURBO TUSSLE
Become a speed demon equipped with a Shotgun and Dash
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ONE AND GUNNED
A single bullet loaded in your Revolver, only one shot or a quick kick is needed to eliminate a Contestant. Eliminate opponents to earn additional bullets
Solo Shown won’t ship with a leaderboard in 12.0, but we’re planning to add one shortly after the start of the season, so don’t panic if you aim to chase superstar status in the mode! Solo Showdown is currently in Beta and we plan on making upgrades to it in later seasons.
GAME UPDATE | GAME SHOW PRESENTATION
THE FINALS is a Game Show, and this season we’ve turned up the production value to match. We’ve reworked the presentation around your Matches from start to finish, making every tournament feel like the main event.
It starts in the new pre-match lobby, where you and your team gather before the action with fresh visuals and polish. From there, new team intros put the spotlight on the Contestants stepping into the Arena, leading into an updated tunnel run as you make your entrance. And when you drop in, improved Arena entry visuals (complete with new intro fireworks on Monaco, Seoul, Las Vegas Stadium, and Skyway Stadium) make every arrival feel like showtime.
We’ve carried that same polish through the whole Match, with smoother team intro sequences, updated spawn-in visuals, and a reworked end-of-round presentation that gives your biggest moments the finish they deserve.
GAME UPDATE | DYNAMIC COMMENTARY
You already know Scotty and June, the voices of THE FINALS. This season, we’re taking the Game Show to the next level with the first version of a feature we call Dynamic Commentary, and with it, your name can become part of the show.
Of course, this comes with new demands for stronger moderation. We’re investing in multiple tools to do our best to keep inappropriate names out of the game. These additional layers of protection will hopefully allow Dynamic Commentary to feel safe and fun.
As far as we know, this is the first time an FPS has featured a live commentator, in a live Match, calling Contestants out by name for something they just did. That’s exactly what we’re chasing: elevating the feeling of pulling off an amazing play, and when that name is yours, making you feel like the superstar of the show.
Your privacy, your call. We take your privacy seriously, so you’re always in control:
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Playing with Anonymous Mode enabled? Your name won’t be called out to anyone on the server.
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Playing with Streamer Mode? We won’t play any lines mentioning other players in your game.
Dynamic Commentary is launching as a Beta feature, and it’s the start of something we’ll keep building on, not the finished experience. We’ll slowly ramp up the number of moments Scotty can react to over the course of the season, aiming for a handful per Match, so we can test the systems in the wild, at scale, and refine as we go.
Truly dynamic, reactive commentary has long been one of our biggest goals for THE FINALS. Getting this foundation into your hands is a massive milestone, and it brings us one step closer to the Game Show experience we’ve always wanted to deliver. We can’t wait for you to hear it, and to hear what you think!
GAME UPDATE | MODERATION UPGRADE
We’ve improved our Moderation tools and policies to ensure that THE FINALS feels fun and welcoming for everyone. Starting now, you should see a significant drop in offensive or toxic content, both in Contestant names and in chat.
As we refine and enforce those policies, you may encounter words and names that you think ought to be blocked or unblocked. We’re happy to hear feedback about the issues you run into so we can actively improve the moderation and feel of both chat and username. You can always write in to player support.
We’re excited to have a stronger moderation tool that will adapt to the needs of our players, support a safer environment, and allow for innovations like dynamic commentary!
UI UPDATE | MAIN MENU AND HUD REWORK
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A CLEARER, MORE LEGIBLE HUD
We’ve gone through the HUD with legibility in mind, resizing text and elements that were too small to catch mid-fight. It still looks like THE FINALS, it’s just easier to read at a glance. You can now scale the HUD until it reads comfortably from wherever you sit, with a separate setting to scale in-world elements independently. And for those of you on ultrawide monitors, we’ve improved how the game handles your display, with a new setting to adjust the HUD aspect ratio.
As you may have also seen in earlier announcements, we’ve updated the HUD to include a glow that we think better sells the fantasy of THE FINALS virtual arena. We’ve seen some initial feedback that players would like to be able to disable that glow if they want to. That option won’t be available in this update but we’re working towards adding it as soon as possible!
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THE NEW SIDE PANEL
We’ve built a brand new Side Panel that puts key information and actions within easy reach exactly when you need them, without pulling your attention off the action. It keeps the Match visible while you’re in it, so you can dip in to check your Career, Party, or Contracts and get right back into the fight.
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QUICK SETTINGS
The Side Panel includes a new Quick Settings tab, putting everything you usually adjust (volume, quality, sensitivity) just seconds away. Best of all, it’s customizable: from the Settings screen, you choose exactly what shows up in Quick Settings to fit how you play. And it’s the same panel in the same place throughout the menus, so your experience stays seamless across the whole game.
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A CLEANER MAIN MENU
We’ve grown THE FINALS a lot over three years, and as we’ve added more, the main menu got busier. So we’ve made it visually cleaner and more on-brand, so it feels less cluttered and intrusive. We’ve also optimized your key actions, making the things you use most often the easiest to reach, with improved navigation across both PC and Console.
With the help of your feedback, THE FINALS will keep evolving. These changes are all designed to improve your experience as a Contestant, and we can’t wait for you to put them to the test!
- INTERACTION PROGRESS BARS
We’ve also improved our interaction systems, making it more clear when you’re performing a revive over a steal and updating the UI showing your progress. We’ve also added a hologram effect on items that are currently in focus for being interacted with, making it easier to tell what you’ll be stealing or reviving!
PROGRESSION UPDATE | NEW SPONSOR SYSTEM
This season, we’ve given Sponsors a complete rework, turning them from a passive progression system into an active “questing” system where Contestants can shape their own journey to superstardom.
To unlock Sponsors, you’ll have to complete at least four matches in THE FINALS.
Once unlocked, you’ll find Sponsors on the Main Menu. This is where you can sign-up with your chosen one, pick challenges, complete them, and claim rewards once you do. You’ll also be able to review your completed challenges, read through documents, listen to audio logs, get to know the Sponsors and review your Sponsor’s Signature Plays.
You may freely swap between Sponsors, and stay loyal to them for as long as you like.
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SPONSOR CHALLENGE
Sponsors issue Challenges, which are made of three to five Contracts. Completing them lets you claim rewards, then accept a new Challenge. Based on how much progress you’ve made, you’ll have up to three Challenges to choose between.
You can freely swap between available Challenges, and your progress will be saved this way you can find an approach that works for you. You’ll only make progress with the currently active one.
Challenges become progressively more difficult as you progress through the Sponsor’s journey, but the rewards get better too.
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REWARDS
When you complete a Challenge, you’ll be able to Claim Rewards by visiting your Sponsor. Rewards may include, but are not limited to: Full outfits, individual outfit pieces, “Style” items like Tattoos or Watches, equippable Player Card titles, Signature Plays, Weapon Skins, Sprays, or Expressions.
You may also receive “Docs” (fanmail, communications, or secret info from your Sponsor) or Audio Logs, revealing more of your Sponsor’s inner workings, or happenings in the Meatspace.
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SIGNATURE PLAYS
Every Sponsor has a collection of aspirational in-game actions that earn you Fans every time you complete them. Certain Challenges will unlock more Signature Plays for you to perform.
As an example, OSPUZE loves to see escalating chaos and risk-taking. Their Signature Plays offer Fans for lengthy elimination streaks, scoring Headshots, mid-air eliminations, and levelling the Arena.
In contrast to them, ALFA ACTA prefers their Contestants to embody the “Minimize Risk, Maximize Firepower” mentality. They’ll send Fans your way for eliminations using Mines and Turrets, protecting your teammates, and fortifying your position.
You will only receive Fans and in-game acknowledgement for Signature Plays belonging to the Sponsor you’re currently signed to.
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EARN FANS TO PROGRESS YOUR WORLD TOUR RANK
Instead of World Tour Points, you’ll now progress through World Tour Ranks by earning Fans. Fans are earned through: Positive in-game actions, performing Signature Plays, and playing during Seasonal Events.
GAME UPDATE | QUALITY OF LIFE
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NEW BODY FOR MEDIUM
The Medium Archetype’s Body Type has been reworked and alongside it, we’ve added a new option closer to the original look if you prefer that one!
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SWAP SIGHTS ON THE FLY
You can now swap sights directly from a Loadout weapon tile anywhere you’d normally change your Loadout: the Contestant screen, the pre-round lobby, the Practice Range, and in-game wherever your reserve is available.
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HIGHLIGHT YOUR PARTY
You can now highlight your party with a distinct color, making it easy to pick out your teammates at a glance. Prefer it off? You can toggle it in Settings.
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PLAYER CARDS ON YOUR CONTESTANT CARD
Your Contestants’ assigned Player Cards now display on your Contestant card, making it easier to tell your builds apart. (And it looks cool!)
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FACEWEAR AND EYEWEAR SEPARATED
By popular demand, Facewear and Eyewear now live in their own customization slots! We’ve separated items that used to be linked so you can mix and match and equip them independently.
A few Headwear and Facewear items are now compatible with Eyewear, because even Ned needs to be able to throw some shades on.
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SHOTGUN PELLET HITMARKERS
New shotgun hitmarkers show you exactly how many pellets connected and where they landed, giving you much clearer feedback on every shot. We’re still working to make this even better, so expect customization and transparency settings to be added to this feature soon. Stay tuned for more!
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NEW REVIVE ANIMATIONS
Reviving now has its own dedicated animations, cleanly separating a revive from a regular interaction, with improved synchronization so revive progress looks consistent for everyone, spectators included
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SMOOTHER CONTROLLER CONTROLS
In the frontend we have updated how you control the spin on characters with a gamepad, matching the feel of mouse and keyboard, with no more single-speed rotation. We’ve also cleaned up customization menu navigation on controller, so browsing Animations, Stickers, Charms, and Attachments behaves consistently.
- EXPRESSION WHEEL UPGRADE
We’ve added additional slots to the Expression Wheel. You can now equip up to 12 emotes!
GAME UPDATE | FOOTSTEPS REWORK
For PRIME TIME, we’ve remixed and tweaked Contestants’ footstep sounds.
Footsteps are now slightly brighter and louder in the mix. We’ve also made them more evenly balanced across the different surfaces of our Arenas, and added more positional and gameplay focused cues.
For example: Lights, Mediums and Heavies now have more diverse footstep content to help differentiate them, and we prioritize enemies’ footsteps in the mix over yours and your teammates.
We’ve tweaked the way footsteps are positioned, especially to your sides, and added subtle details that help identify if players are on a floor above you, or are indoors while you’re outside.
Landing sounds are louder and more detailed, making big drop-ins less subtle.
PERFORMANCE | RS ADJUSTMENT
We’re adding an automatic RS adjustment for server issues that cause game crashes or disconnects. When you lose RS to an issue with our servers, you’ll be compensated! We’ve done this in the past, but now it will happen automatically and more reliably.
When your account is affected, you’ll get a message about the adjustment within the next 24 hours, letting you know your Ranked Score loss has been credited back to your account.
GAME UPDATE | SAYING GOODBYE TO VRs
VRs have been a currency since the launch of THE FINALS, but after the initial grind to unlock new Weapons and Gadgets, many players simply maintained the maximum amount and there weren’t good opportunities we were happy with to allow them to be used on other items.
As a result, we’ve taken the decision to remove VRs completely. Items are now unlocked either with their parent Playstyle via Playstyle Tokens, or are automatically unlocked for players.
Whew! This is already a long read, and it’s not even counting the balance changes, which I suggest checking out alongside the other bug fixes.
With a patch this big, I am expecting a hotfix or two will be deployed within the next two weeks.
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