Arc Raiders: Cross-Play & Cross-Progression Details Revealed
Embark Studios' upcoming extraction shooter, Arc Raiders, is set to drop players into a treacherous, retro-futuristic wasteland where survival is anything but guaranteed. In this high-stakes world, you'll scavenge for resources, battle menacing automated threats, and face off against other squads of opportunistic raiders. While going it alone is an option, the key to a successful extraction often lies in teamwork. But in an era where friends are spread across different gaming ecosystems, a critical question arises: can you squad up with your friends, regardless of their platform?
As we gear up to dive into the world of Arc Raiders, we’ve gathered all the essential details on its cross-play and cross-progression capabilities. Here’s everything you need to know about how you can play with friends and carry your progress across different systems.
Does Arc Raiders Support Cross-Play?
Yes, Arc Raiders is confirmed to support full cross-play functionality. This means that players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC will all be able to join the same servers to team up with or fight against one another.
This is a crucial feature for a game built around squad-based, player-versus-player-versus-environment (PvPvE) encounters. The unforgiving nature of extraction shooters means that communication and coordination with a trusted team can be the deciding factor between a lucrative haul and losing all your gear. By breaking down the walls between platforms, Embark Studios ensures that you can always assemble your ideal squad without anyone being left out due to their hardware choice.
Key benefits of cross-play in Arc Raiders include:
- A Unified Player Base: Combining the communities from all platforms creates a larger, more active player pool. This leads to faster matchmaking times and ensures that servers are populated with a diverse range of squads to encounter.
- Play With Anyone: The primary advantage is simple: you can play with your friends. Whether your team is split between PC and consoles or different console families, you can send an invite and drop into the wasteland together.
- A Level Playing Field: The developers are working to ensure the experience is balanced across all platforms, allowing for fair and competitive encounters no matter what input device players are using.
While full cross-play is the default, it is common for modern shooters to include options for players who may want a more tailored experience, such as a "console-only" cross-play setting. This would allow PlayStation and Xbox users to play together without being matched against PC players, a feature often requested by the community. We are awaiting final confirmation on whether these specific toggles will be available at launch.
How Cross-Progression Works in Arc Raiders
In addition to playing with friends on other platforms, you can also carry your own journey with you. Arc Raiders will feature full cross-progression, allowing you to maintain a single, persistent account across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
This system is powered by a unified Embark ID. By linking your platform-specific accounts (like your PlayStation Network, Xbox, or Steam accounts) to a central Embark ID, all of your in-game progress is synchronized in the cloud. This means that your character level, unlocked weapons, cosmetic items, currency, and quest progression will be available no matter where you choose to log in.
If you spend a weekend playing on your PS5 and then decide to switch to your PC for a weeknight session, you can pick up exactly where you left off without missing a beat. This freedom is invaluable for the modern gamer, protecting the time and effort you invest into your character.
It is important to note a standard industry practice that will likely apply here: while your progress and unlocked items will transfer, you will almost certainly need to own a copy of the game on each platform you intend to play on. For example, to use cross-progression between a PC and a PS5, you would need to have access to the game on both Steam (or the Epic Games Store) and the PlayStation Store.
Why These Features Are a Game-Changer
For a title like Arc Raiders, the inclusion of both cross-play and cross-progression is more than just a convenience—it's a foundational element of its design. The game's core loop revolves around risk, reward, and teamwork.
- Cross-play enhances the social fabric of the game, making it easier to build and maintain a reliable squad.
- Cross-progression provides ultimate flexibility, respecting the player's investment and allowing them to engage with the game on their own terms.
Together, these features create a seamless and unified ecosystem. They ensure that the community remains whole and that no player's progress is ever trapped on a single device. As you prepare to stake your claim in the ruins of a fallen world, you can do so with the confidence that your friends can join you and your hard-earned loot will follow you wherever you go.
Arc Raiders FAQ
Is Arc Raiders coming to PlayStation 4 or Xbox One?
No, Arc Raiders has been developed exclusively for current-generation hardware. It will only be available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, so there will be no cross-play with last-gen consoles.
Do I need an Embark ID to use cross-progression?
Yes, a unified Embark ID will be the key to linking your accounts and enabling seamless cross-progression between different platforms.
Will my purchased cosmetics and in-game items transfer between platforms?
Yes. Thanks to the cross-progression system tied to your Embark ID, any items you earn or purchase on one platform should be available on all other linked platforms.