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THE FINALS’ October 20 Season Will Rework Its Arenas and Destruction

The upcoming season will also expand sponsor identity, introduce reactive smoke, and bring a full UI and HUD rework.

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An aerial view of a colorful urban arena beneath the glass roof of a packed THE FINALS stadium.

The next season of THE FINALS is scheduled to arrive on October 20, and Embark Studios is using it to reshape several of the shooter’s defining systems. In a Steam announcement, the studio said it spent the year pursuing one larger plan instead of treating the game as three separate seasonal projects.

That plan focused on improving the existing game while pushing its arena combat, destruction, and game show presentation further. THE FINALS will turn three this December, giving the upcoming season a clear role as more than another content rotation.

Sponsors will play a larger role in the game show

Sponsors are moving closer to the center of the Contestant experience. Embark wants players to feel that they are competing for someone with a distinct identity, personality, and purpose, rather than simply progressing through a passive system.

The studio is also reworking how Contestants, teams, and Arenas are introduced. The game show itself will receive changes to its presentation, including how it looks, feels, and develops during a match.

Older Arenas are getting visual and gameplay changes

Embark is applying nearly three years of lessons to the Arenas players already know, starting with the oldest maps. Lighting and materials will be updated to improve visual quality and readability, while broader level design changes will alter how matches flow through them.

Each Arena will also receive a stronger identity through its sponsor, colors, and character. The result should be easier-to-read spaces with more distinct personalities and different combat patterns, rather than familiar locations receiving only a fresh coat of paint.

Destruction will move beyond intact or broken

October’s season will bring the biggest destruction update THE FINALS has received since launch. Structures will be able to remain partly attached as they break apart, allowing floors to sag, walls to lean, and buildings to collapse in more varied ways.

A damaged floor could sag into the level below and create a new route, while debris from a larger collapse may become another surface for movement and combat. Chain reactions are also being expanded, so one environmental event can trigger another instead of ending with a single break.

Dynamism will extend to smoke as well. Smoke will respond to forces and changes in the Arena, while clearer visual cues should give players more information about unstable structures and developing hazards. Embark also rebuilt parts of the destruction system so collapses carry more weight and sound.

More season details are coming before October 20

Balance and performance work will continue through the season, including changes that are not immediately visible in screenshots. Embark plans to share more information through its official roadmap in the coming weeks.

The studio has also confirmed a new Playstyle, a new Mode, and a full UI and HUD rework among the remaining reveals. Which change do you most want to see in action when the October season arrives? Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.

The Finals is the world’s first Dynamism Shooter, a free-to-play, fast-paced, physics-driven, first-person shooter set on the stage of the biggest Gameshow of the future! Fight for Fans and fortune in fully-destructible, virtual Arenas that guarantee no two rounds will ever play the same!