Embark Studios has had to increase the challenge level for Arc Raiders' first community challenge after players began to rapidly smash through the donation requirement. It's a big day for the Arc Raiders community as the first planned content expansion has arrived, and it appears the level of excitement of players has also contributed to a huge push to finish the first event as quickly as possible.

After a huge launch, Arc Raiders kicked off its North Line update, bringing the first wave of new content to the game. However, instead of just unlocking everything right away, Embark Studios challenged the community to donate resources and materials to clear the tunnel and open the path to Stella Montis. There's plenty of anticipation surrounding the new location, which features unique places and loot to obtain, while also introducing two new ARC enemy types to deal with in the Matriarch and Shredder. Players are clearly eager to see the new content, which has resulted in a surprising change from Embark Studios.

arc raiders player downed for 15 minutes
Arc Raiders Player Extracts After Being Downed for Over 15 Minutes

Surprisingly, an Arc Raiders player is able to survive and extract after spending over 15 minutes being downed, and here's how they did it.

Arc Raiders Stella Montis Event Gets More Challenging

However, it seems that Embark didn't expect such a massive push from the community, as the developer had to scramble to prevent players from unlocking the new Stella Montis map much faster than expected. In an update on the official Discord server, Embark's community manager, Ossen, confirmed that the progression has been much faster than the studio anticipated. Because things are moving a bit too fast and in an effort to allow all players to experience the event, the studio has raised the requirement even higher, though thanks to the massive player numbers in Arc Raiders, it probably won't take too much longer to reach that new goal either.

Already, players have seen the progress bar decrease since the news broke, though thankfully, the required items are fairly standard resources in game. By checking out the live event section on the game's menu, players can see the community progress, while also donating common Arc Raiders loot items like fabric, plastic, metal, and rubber parts, or chemicals. For their efforts, players can also earn Merits, a new currency that Embark has said will "fuel the next phase of progression" likely tied to the Staking Our Claim phase of the unlock process following the challenge completion. There's a cap on how many Merits can be earned, but players can continue to donate materials beyond that point if they want.

Alongside this community challenge, Embark has been relatively quick to respond to player feedback. Players have been very vocal about having a dedicated Duos mode added to Arc Raiders, which Embark quickly addressed in an update. Not only that, the developer reduced the prices for cosmetic gear inside the in-game shop, even providing a refund for players who have already spent money to make up the difference. Players who meet that requirement should see their Raider Token number increase if it hasn't already.

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ARC Raiders Tag Page Cover Art
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Extraction
Shooter
Third-Person Shooter
Survival
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 87 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
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Released
October 30, 2025
ESRB
Teen / Violence, Blood
Developer(s)
Embark Studios
Publisher(s)
Embark Studios
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ARC Raiders release window announced with launch plans
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
Cross-Platform Play
Yes - all platforms
Cross Save
Yes - via Embark ID
Number of Players
Single-player
Steam Deck Compatibility
Unknown
PC Release Date
October 30, 2025
Xbox Series X|S Release Date
October 30, 2025
PS5 Release Date
October 30, 2025
Genre(s)
Extraction, Shooter, Third-Person Shooter, Survival
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty

Source: Discord