ARC Raiders Suffers One Bad Review – Reviewer Suffers The Wrath Of The Internet

• Player community outraged after ARC Raiders receives its first negative review
• Reviewer upset over usage of AI tools for voices of characters in the game
• Embark Studios was never quiet about using AI-tools during game development
• Voice actors who worked on the game agreed to having their voices AI generated
• ARC Raiders receives big update including lower prices on in-game purchases

Negative Feedback Breeds Negative Comments

Rick Lane reviewed ARC Raiders on behalf of Eurogamer and gave it a meager 2/5 rating which came as a big surprise as hundreds of thousands of concurrent players are having the time of their lives. Reactions to Lane’s review range from praise to suggesting that Lane should unalive himself.

YouTube is currently flooded with videos of players enjoying the game, shooting each other, blowing each other up, trolling each other with landmines, and so much more. But no matter how much fun and enjoyment players have, something Embark Studios never hid is apparently bothersome to a single reviewer.

“My review of ARC Raiders is now live. It’s a well designed extraction shooter. But Embark Studios’ use of AI voices is indefensible in a game that has benefitted so much from human speech,” Lane wrote on Bluesky.

Lane announced almost a year ago that he would no longer be posting on X, but that did not stop comments too angry to quote from pouring in after he shared his thoughts on ARC Raiders.

AI-based Content Fully Disclosed Before ARC Raiders Was Released

Embark Studios never hid the fact that using AI generated content in ARC Raiders to support the creativity of its development team was a part of the process. On the game’s Steam page the studio gave a full disclosure long before the game was released which suggests that AI tools were used to support development of the game rather than replacing developers.

“During the development process, we may use procedural- and AI-based tools to assist with content creation. In all such cases, the final product reflects the creativity and expression of our own development team.”

Furthermore, voice actors who worked on ARC Raiders signed contracts in which they agreed to have their voices be AI generated in the future.

American video game producer and designer George Broussard, best known for being one of the creators of Duke Nukem, replied to Lane on Bluesky: “Review the game based on its merits, not your op-ed style thoughts about how it was made. You can mention those thoughts in the review but only the final quality of the product should be reflected in the score,” he wrote.

“Giving Arc a 40% is gross negligence of the job you had to do.”

Before Eurogamer’s review saw daylight, ARC Raiders held an average score well above 90% across multiple publications, including player feedback. Now the game hovers a bit over 80% and is still climbing.

Big Game Update With Duo Match Making On Nov 13

Embark Studios has quietly been testing a few game mechanics and released a few big updates after listening to player feedback. ARC Raiders is a PvPvE at its core, meaning that players can either team up against the robots controlling the world, or they can kill and loot each other before extracting to sanctuary.

“We have silently tested and enabled Duo prioritized matchmaking, beginning earlier this week. Duo matchmaking will work like this: first, we prioritize Solos and Squads to play separately. After that, we prioritize Duos to play with other Duos, and for Trios to play with Trios,” the company said in the patch notes.

The 2025 roadmap speaks volumes for a game that is rapidly going from strength to strength.

“Please note that this is not a 100% guaranteed system, so you may at times run into differing constellations of players other than your own.”

Another change welcomed by the gaming community is that Embark Studios paid attention and decided to lower prices of in-game purchases where applicable. But that’s not all: “For any Raider who has already made a purchase on the old pricing, we’ll compensate you for the difference. These Raider Tokens will be refunded back into your account automatically in the coming week.”

No Signs Of ARC Raiders Slowing Down

Lane’s review may have put a small dent in ARC Raiders’ stellar reputation for being one of the best extraction shooters of all time, there is no doubt that Embark Studios and its fan base will be slowed down.

Within hours of the game’s global release on Oct. 30, more than a quarter of a million concurrent players were experiencing the ARC Raiders’ world. Little over one week after the release over 700,000 concurrent Raiders inspired the studio to thank them.

“The many different ways you play and participate in ARC Raiders have completely blown us away, going far beyond what we ever imagined. You surprise us, outsmart us, and keep us on our toes. We wouldn’t have it any other way. The point being, you all push us to be better, and we’re truly grateful to have you along for this journey,” the studio said on the game’s official website.

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