"I think Speranza is heavily underutilized": Arc Raiders boss wants to see more social elements and thinks the main city is ripe for "something else"

News
By published

Embark is looking at ways to make both PvE and PvP more fun

A player in the hub of Arc Raiders
(Image credit: Embark Studios)

As Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios sizes up a massive launch and considers how to build on the community it's cultivated, CEO Patrick Söderlund has his eye on social elements and interactions across the player base. Amid discussion of a more Destiny-style hub area, he reckons the city of Speranza is especially fertile ground.

Speaking with IGN, Söderlund examines the balance of PvE and PvP that defines Arc Raiders, and the surprisingly friendly player base that's sprung up around it. He reiterates that the sandbox and community surprised Embark in many ways, as "the stuff that happens in Arc Raiders is just the output, which is incredible and very rewarding for us to see as developers."

Söderlund focuses on Speranza as a conflux of player behavior and flavorful elements. "I think Speranza is heavily underutilized, personally," he says. "I think that's something that we want to, probably, improve and make into something else. Are there elements of the game where there could be meeting points?"

Quick to stress that these ideas are just rough hypotheticals and not a tease for things to come, Söderlund notes that expanding Speranza is "something that I think people have told us about, something that I think could be cool."

His comments follow discussion of Embark turning Speranza into a walkable hub more in line with Destiny 2 or Monster Hunter's multiplayer meeting points. In these hubs, you might see dozens of players roaming around, talking to vendors, emoting at each other, or – at least in modern Monster Hunter – arm wrestling or playing other minigames.

Söderlund, likewise, wonders, "Could you meet up with people there? Could that be a social hub to some extent? What more can we do with that?" And beyond the functional or social impact, how would Speranza – currently a fragmented series of menus and backgrounds – fill out "the lore of Arc Raiders"? Perhaps we'll see Embark come up with some answers, rather than pacing around possibilities, in the months ahead.

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.