An Arc Raiders player had the cops called on them while playing the game in a California motel room after a concerned guest mistook their desperate shouts into a headset for a sign of real danger, in what you might call a glowing review of the tension this game creates.
Reddit user YoMopho shared this story with the Arc Raiders Reddit community. GamesRadar+ contacted the Seaside, California police records department to confirm it. The department said officers did indeed respond to this sort of tip at a motel the night of November 27, at a time that lines up with YoMopho's report. I also obtained the name and address of the motel, and pictures from the motel website line up with the photo included with the Reddit post.
Late Thanksgiving night, YoMopho says they were playing Arc Raiders on PS5 "because wtf else am I going to do but raid, rat, and repeat."
"All of a sudden, approximately 15 mins ago, I hear a pounding at my door, 'Police!!!, open up!!!'" he continues. This would've been around 11pm Pacific time. "I walk over and look through the peep hole, but I can't see shit (see earlier about shitty motel). So I latch the deadbolt, and ask for a warrant. Cop says they're doing a welfare check because someone reported someone getting shot in my room."
Cops called on me for playing ARC Raiders.from r/ArcRaiders
Shortly before this surprise visit, YoMopho says he was in a raid on the Blue Gate map and, after finding every rat's dream – two Wolfpack grenades and a rare rifle – ended up being downed by a Rocketeer, one of the most lethal Arc around. They turned to proximity chat, which lets nearby players talk to one another in one of the defining features of Arc Raiders' emergent storytelling, for help.
"I yelled out, 'heeelp, I'm done, rez me please, I got shot, please get me up!!!'" YoMopho explained. "There was a guy at the extract that I saw and attempted to but the Rocketeer was close and dangerous so he left. I didn't [get to] the extract and I died, then yelled out. And I guess that's when they called the cops."
In a Reddit reply, YoMopho insists he "yelled 'FRIENDLY'" to the police – the go-to calling card for PvP-averse raiders – but apparently this doesn't work in real life. In the end, "They left and looked at me with disdain considering my age, appearance, and where they were called and for what, only to see what it was."
"I swear man… I was laughing when I finally opened the door. I asked to take their picture at the end but they looked at me like I was a dumbass," YoMopho concludes.
Update: In comments to GamesRadar+, YoMopho says, "I viewed the police visit as comical. I’m a vet (non combat) and have worked for the military my entire life, so it wasn’t stressful in that way cuz I feel the cops aren’t going to do anything as long as I’m compliant. I was more stressed that someone was impersonating an officer to get me to open the door and rob me.
"I haven’t really gamed in forever, but I picked up [Arc Raiders] during the government shutdown as a distraction from the multitudes of stressful events and circumstances I’ve been experiencing the last few months," he continues. "I haven’t had this much fun in a game since Battlefield 1942 with the desert combat mod. Also, if you think about it, we would have never got Arc Raiders if that mod was never created 20 something years ago. Anyway, I was actually about to get the new BF but kept seeing hilarious reels on ARC so I chose that. Glad I did."
