Speranza, the central area in Arc Raiders where you can rest easy and get yourself together before heading out, seems like it would be a lovely safe haven to wander around. Developer Embark Studios agrees, and hopes to transform the place into a walkable neighborhood one day, but for the time being, there are other priorities.
"We've 100% discussed it. I think it was like the first question asked when we started building the front end of the game," Virgil Watkins, design director on Arc Raiders, told PCGamesN. "'What would that experience be like?' It always came down to time and scope for us."
As cool and aesthetically pleasing as a hub you can explore yourself like Destiny 2's or Monster Hunter's would be, it's certainly not crucial to the experience and making sure the extraction shooter is stable and functional were and are greater priorities. Given the huge response Arc Raiders has gotten since launching less than three months ago, Embark's resources are being pulled in several disparate directions, and none of them involve taking a stroll through Speranza.
But that can, and likely will, change. When is anyone's guess, but as Embark gets through more events and ensures the long-term viability of the game's infrastructure, it’s something the devs can revisit with more immediacy. Don't think you’ll be forced to acclimate if you're more of a menus person, either.
"Personally, I love the vibe and aesthetic of a walkable hub," Watkins says. "But I would want to preserve the menu-ing so that you can do it quickly and efficiently, rather than [having to] run to Celeste and then run to my [room], and then 'Oops, I forgot this thing at Shani.' There's also, of course, an immersion factor to that."
It's all about timing, and when it's the appropriate occasion, Embark will revisit the idea in earnest. "It's something we have discussed, and we'll continue to discuss, and I think there's definitely a good appetite on the team for it as well," Watkins adds. "It's more about when the right moment to open that door is."
