Arc Raiders design director Virgil Watkins has revealed that the team has discussed the idea of turning the underground city of Speranza into a fully realized social hub that players can walk around.
In the world of Arc Raiders, the deadly robots that walk the surface of the Earth have forced humanity underground, living in the city known as Speranza. It’s home to the last remnants of civilization, as well as all of the traders who provide you with the gear you use while topside.
But when you return from a run, what actually greets you is a series of menus, with a moving backdrop that shows the bustling city. Since launch, many players have felt this is a missed opportunity, with some wishing it could be turned into an actual social space like Destiny 2‘s The Tower.
According to the game’s design director, developer Embark Studios has discussed the idea at length, and there’s a chance it might happen in the future.
Arc Raiders devs open to making Destiny 2-style social hub
“I mean, we’ve 100% discussed it,” Virgil Watkins revealed in an interview with PCGamesN. “I think it was like the first question asked when we started building the front end of the game, you know, ‘what would that experience be like?’ It always came down to time and scope for us.”
He went on to say that they ultimately decided that a menu does the job, allowing players to quickly organize their stash, build loadouts, and access traders, and that their limited resources were better spent on other features.
That doesn’t mean a Destiny-esque hub couldn’t arrive later down the line, though, as Watkins also told the site that both he and the rest of the team are keen on the idea. However, it’s important for them to balance immersion with convenience.
“For me, personally, I love the vibe and aesthetic of a walkable hub, but I would want to preserve the menuing so that you can do it quickly and efficiently, rather than [having to] run to Celeste and then run to my [room], and then ‘Oops, I forgot this thing at Shani,” he continued.
“But there’s also, of course, an immersion factor to that. So yeah, it’s something we have discussed, and we’ll continue to discuss, and I think there’s definitely a good appetite on the team for it as well. It’s more about when the right moment to open that door is.”
So, while this isn’t confirmation that we’ll be able to walk around Speranza anytime soon, the devs certainly aren’t ruling it out.
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