Congrats, you played yourself, Arc Raiders' machines aren't actually learning: 'That's just the way we author them'

There's been a theory developing since launch that Arc Raiders' robots are reacting to players' habits and learning how to counter them. Stuff like searching spots we often hide in, or finding better angles to pick us off. I've even read one comment saying that the Arcs will soon start taking out rats because they know where they hide, and watched Leapers cram themselves into ever-tighter spaces.

The idea that the Arc might be evolving seems to stem from a talk given by Embark's Tom Soldberg, a machine learning software engineer, back in 2021, about how the studio used the tech to teach the in-game enemies how to move and navigate the environment organically, rather than animating it all themselves.

I love the idea that the same machine learning might have been applied to the Arc's ability to hunt, as it would be perfect for the game's lore. Unfortunately, it's not true. If you've been noticing the Arc getting smarter, you're gaslighting yourself.

Watkins joined Embark Studios as a senior technical designer in October 2021, going on to serve as Arc Raiders' design director since February 2022.

Last week, Arc Raiders' design director, Virgil Watkins, told us that any examples of smart behaviour are the hard work of Embark's AI designers and engineers: "That's just us in the way we author them". He also pointed out that Embark only uses AI in the original videogame sense, not anything LLM-related.

"The machine learning is literally only for teaching them to walk and navigate the environment. It doesn't do any of their behaviours or their attacks or anything like that."

Look, I hate to be the one to burst that bubble, but at least you're safe in the knowledge that pulling off cool moves or finding sneaky hiding spots isn't a threat to your future self or another player. The Arcs are terrifyingly smart, but at least they're not learning. And even in their existing state, they are more than capable of doing some truly messed-up stuff:

Read our full interview with Embark's Virgil Watkins tomorrow.