ARC Raiders has been released and is being enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of gamers worldwide. It’s a gritty, post-apocalyptic extraction shooter with a beautiful aesthetic, rooted in retro-futurism and boasting sumptuous, semi-open-world environments. It also has extensive customization options, including skin bundles and outfits.
That opens the door to potentially introducing some bizarre costumes, but Embark Studios has firmly shut down that suggestion. Following the reluctance of EA DICE to add kooky skins to Battlefield 6, Embark has stressed that ‘Call of Duty’ style skins won’t find their way into ARC Raiders.
No Ridiculous Skin Packs for ARC Raiders
Call of Duty faces regular ridicule for the skins and outfit bundles it offers players everywhere. From Nicki Minaj to a literal pigeon, and from Beavis and Butthead to Wubz, Call of Duty has featured some borderline bizarre skins over the years.
One of the leading concerns from fans of Battlefield 6 was that EA DICE (and associated studios) would follow a similar monetization path in the newly released first-person shooter. For now, the team is keeping the creativity confined to mostly realistic outfits, but fans are skeptical whether it’ll stay that way forever.
In a recent interview, Embark Studios confirmed that ARC Raiders will follow a similar operating model, with the team avoiding the addition of inane skins that don’t match the game’s vibe.
What I believe to be true is that we will maintain the current aesthetic that we have. It will fit within our sensibilities of how these things look and fit within the world and inside the fiction.
I think it was said a little while ago in a meeting that we would never, say, make a Santa Claus outfit, but we may make something that is of our own tone and our own aesthetic that evokes a Santa Claus. That’s not even a statement that we will have a Santa Claus outfit, but I think that’s kind of the line you can draw.
I think because so much of our game is strong around that element, it would be really unfortunate to upset that by injecting, I don’t know, a T-Rex costume running around suddenly – I don’t think the novelty is worth the trade.
Black Ops 7 will be released in just two weeks, and the stranger skins have already started stacking up for the game. It’s part and parcel of the Call of Duty ecosystem these days, but that doesn’t mean fans aren’t actively complaining about all the silly skins being added to the games.
Hopefully, games like Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders will steer clear of irrelevant crossovers and celebrity skins.
Do you want ARC Raiders to have any insane skin collaborations? Let me know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the claim that Halo 2 and Halo 3 are being remade
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
