The backbone of Arc Raiders, Scrappy the rooster, is based on a real bird who crashed a dev Zoom meeting and was photoscanned in as something "we'll definitely replace later"

Arc Raiders apricot hunters know full well that Scrappy the rooster is your closest ally down here in Speranza. The ever-reliable animal companion keeps essential crafting supplies like metal parts and plastic trickling in as you labor away in the Rust Belt, quietly fueling future raids and saving you some scavenging. In a new post, developer Embark reveals that Scrappy is based on a real bird named Hȧkan, who was initially photoscanned into the game as a gag.

Like so many great stories, 3D artist Johan says "it all began when a flock of chickens crashed my Zoom meeting."

"Mid-Zoom meeting, the birds somehow snuck into the house and strutted around behind me, instantly stealing the show and derailing the meeting entirely," Johan recalls. "Among those birds was Hȧkan, the rooster that would go on to become Scrappy."

"One day, I decided to photoscan Håkan and sneak him into the game," Johan says. You know, as you do. Sometime afterward, Embark was looking for a "resource producer" to help cut down on the most boring parts of the loot economy: scrounging up rags and scrap. Johan says the team considered robots, cats, and yes, robot cats, until somebody, "in a moment of brilliance," said, "'Don't we have a Rooster?'"

And thus, Scrappy was born. "Scrappy went from hidden Easter egg, to 'temporary mesh we’ll definitely replace later', to a beloved and irreplaceable part of the ARC Raiders universe," Johan summarizes. "So next time you see Scrappy, tell him I say hello!"

The best part of this story is that Scrappy is living it up in Speranza. Through his "training" questline, which improves his gathering abilities as you bury him in gifts, the bird is treated to sweet fruits, comfy beds, lavish pillows, and even a fashionable little collar. It might be a pain to gather those little fruits – thank goodness for Blue Gate – but it's all worth it to brighten the underground life of our resident gatherer.

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