Arc Raiders has become the latest game to have developers assure fans that it won't devolve into ridiculous skins, in an era where Call of Duty has followed the Fortnite model.
As part of Battlefield 6's numerous dunks on Call of Duty this year, one of the most notable was the developers stating it's "really important to us" that cosmetics "feel grounded," a sentiment that contrasts with Call of Duty's increasingly outlandish content, which has featured collaborations with Nicki Minaj and Beavis and Butt-Head. And while the "grounded" skins introduced in Battlefield 6 Season 1 weren't enough for some Battlefield fans, it's a sentiment that is an easy win these days, where nearly everything seems to have some sort of crossover.
Speaking to PCGamesN, Arc Raiders design director Virgil Watkins talked about this recent trend and whether Arc Raiders is likely to go down the silly or crossover route now that it's out in the world. While Watkins said the decision wouldn't be his to make, he added, "What I believe to be true is that we will maintain the current aesthetic that we have," adding that any skins would "fit within our sensibilities of how these things look and fit within the world and inside the fiction."
Watkins singles out a potential Santa Claus outfit, saying that in a meeting, they brought up something that they would never make; however, he adds, "we may make something that is of our own tone and our own aesthetic that evokes a Santa Claus." He then says, "I think that's kind of the line you can draw. We're pretty protective of making sure that anything that goes into the game fits within the visual identity, fits within the tone, fits within the setting."
Arc Raiders does have a distinct visual style, with Watkins saying that "it would be really unfortunate to upset that by injecting, I don't know, a T. rex costume running around," And that "I don't think the novelty is worth the trade."
Arc Raiders launches to over 260,000 concurrent players and 88% positive early reviews on Steam, outdoing The Finals even at $40.
