Arc Raiders is out now on PC, and Embark Studios is drawing a clear line around what counts as acceptable cosmetics for its post‑disaster extraction shooter. The studio says it will avoid the sort of outlandish crossover skins that turn up in other shooters.
Some cosmetics can fracture the mood and fiction the team has spent years building. Embark’s design director, Virgil Watkins, put it bluntly in a recent interview with PCGamesN. The studio will keep the game’s look consistent and coherent, even if that means passing on novelty outfits. “We would never, say, make a Santa Claus outfit,” he said, “but we may make something that is of our own tone and our own aesthetic that evokes a Santa Claus.”
This is not an aesthetic purity contest so much as a guardrail. Embark wants players to have freedom to express themselves, but within a scope that fits the game’s world and tone. Watkins offered the example of a roaming T‑Rex costume as the sort of thing that would undermine the setting: “I don’t think the novelty is worth the trade.”
That conservatism will be welcome to players who care about Arc Raiders’ atmosphere and visual storytelling. The game’s raider suits and makeshift survivor gear aim to feel believable while still having personality, and the enemy Arc bots and audio design are intended to reinforce that tone rather than clash with it.
Embark has trodden a different visual line before. The studio’s arena shooter, The Finals, leaned into bright, outrageous skins and wacky cosmetics. With Arc Raiders, the team is deliberately pulling back from that register so the outfits don’t look like they belong to a different game.
For context on Embark’s longer plans and how it sees the game’s future, refer to our earlier coverage of the studio calling Arc Raiders a multi‑year project and its approach to roadmaps.
That doesn’t mean players won’t get interesting options. Watkins said the studio will aim to design cosmetics that “fit within the visual identity, fits within the tone, fits within the setting.” Expect outfits that echo familiar ideas without resorting to literal, out‑of‑place novelty costumes.
If you’re diving into Arc Raiders, we have pick-ups and guides to help you get started, including recommendations for the best builds and a primer on Hatch Keys. Share your thoughts on Arc Raiders and whether you prefer strict aesthetic rules or freewheeling cosmetics in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube.
