ARC Raiders Not Getting Shadow Dropped at Summer Game Fest Led to Fans Review-Bombing the Studio’s Other Game

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In case you missed it, Embark Studios has announced the release date for ARC Raiders! It’s coming this October, as confirmed during yesterday’s Summer Game Fest main event. However, it seems that this news has left some members of the community a bit disappointed. While many are happy to see the release date, some expected a bit more in this lead-up, specifically news of an open beta and even a possible shadow drop of ARC Raiders.

This is a perfect example of when a game’s hype can work against it, as Embark’s other game got targeted in the crossfire.

For its part,  Embark Studios has seen some of the complaints and has issued a statement apologizing to the community for mishandling the game’s hype.

ARC Raiders Has a Launch Date, But Fans Were Hoping for a Shadowdrop

For those keeping tabs on ARC Raiders before yesterday’s SGF (Summer Game Fest) event, you probably learned of a hidden countdown timer that was recently added to the game’s beta files. While Embark itself never actually shared this timer on any of its social media, it has acknowledged that it was intentionally placed there. However, what they didn’t intend was for fans to run with it and assume that it meant that the game would drop on June 6, the same day as SGF where they would announce the release date.

This has started quite a commotion within the community, with many taking to The Finals’ (also developed by Embark) Steam page to review-bomb the game simply because ARC Raiders didn’t end up shadowdropping.

Embark has taken notice of this and has issued an apology (via Discord), stating that they mishandled the hype leading up to this announcement and are 100% to blame for the resulting expectations. The statement reads:

“In the lead-up to the ARC Raiders date reveal, we put out a countdown to June 6. This gave the false impression that we would be shadow dropping the game. Instead, you found out that ARC Raiders is coming on October 30, making it a countdown to a countdown. The frustration and disappointment that followed is 100% our fault. The teaser we posted came from a place of genuine excitement. We finally have an actual date! But it’s clear that what we saw as playful and hype-building came across as misleading and frustrating to many of you, and we get why.

We mismanaged the hype, we misread the situation, and we’re so sorry that this led to disappointment.

We’re making this game for you and your reaction to ARC Raiders has been humbling and overwhelming and exciting.”

As someone who enjoyed the closed test they recently conducted, I think that part of the blame is also on us, the community, for letting our speculations get the better of us. However, it’s nice to see that Embark is acknowledging this and even learning from it. They close off the statement, noting that they are putting their heads down in order to focus on building the game and meeting expectations for launch.

“we’re putting our heads down and focusing on building the game. We know that games live and die by polish and quality, balance, and long-term fun. We need this additional time to ensure we can meet your expectations. Look here and on our socials for updates on our progress and the road to launch. Thank you for holding us to a high standard. We intend to meet it. //Dusty And the ARC Raiders Team”

ARC Raiders officially arrives on current-gen consoles and PC on October 30, 2025.

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