Most people who spend a lot of time playing games ARC Raiders Now you should know that this is a game where listening is as important as seeing. In fact, if anyone wants to be successful, it's worth mentioning the following: ARC RaidersYou will probably need to wear a gaming headset to play so you can hear more clearly. This will come as no surprise to anyone who has played competitive shooters before. ARC RaidersPlayers have more than other raiders to worry about. ARCs constantly patrol the surface looking for humans to subdue, and hearing them can mean the difference between life and death. More than any other PvP shooter, being able to hear everything is more important.
It all depends on what happens in the end. ARC Raiders Designed with audio as the top priority. According to the developer, ARC Raiders It's a “game that listens to things,” although not all shooters can claim that. Embark's extraction shooter already has impeccable visuals, but the sound design is top-notch, giving players an immersive experience unlike any other. However, although this is a key part ARC Raiders's design philosophy, it was not nominated for a game award that some players expected to win easily.
The ARC Raiders didn't always listen to things.
Like almost all games, ARC Raiders It has advanced rapidly throughout development. Today's games are far from what they were originally conceived of. For example, Embark initially planned the extraction shooter to be a PvE experience, as detailed in the first episode of The Evolution of ARC Raiders article series published on the official website. ARC Raiders YouTube channel. But that's not the only change the developers have made. The pacing has also changed significantly and, as a result, the focus has been placed on audio design to play a more important role.
Audio emphasis in ARC Raiders was due to speed changes
It's not really up to the developers to decide what they want. ARC Raiders' Audio made it a core part of the experience, but we decided to slow the game down to the point where players were forced to listen to their surroundings rather than react to them. Audio Director Bence Pajor said in the first episode of The Evolution of ARC Raiders: “The game we're making now is the game I imagined when we started making it. It was a game about exploring and existing in this world, and the world had to challenge you and you had to go to different places to find things. The way the game played before was an action game where things came at you.”
Of course, “things” still come to the player. ARC Raiders In the current version, machines from all over the world will use any means possible to track down and defeat players that are discovered in the open. But there's no denying that fans of extraction shooters playing today are slower-paced than what Pajor calls “action games.” It was originally announced as closer. shadow of the colossus meet Left 4 Dead meet PUBG, ARC Raiders'The game loop was once vague and action heavy. Over time, the pace got slower, the environments got bigger, and we decided to emphasize audio as the core of the experience. As Fayor said,
“For me, it's much better because it's slower. This is the best game I've ever worked on, because it's a game where you hear things.”
As the audio director said ARC Raiders It is intended to challenge the player not only visually but also aurally, forcing them to listen in order to survive. Today's extraction shooter is not about quick snaps and quick substitutions, but about strategic planning, careful decision-making, and extreme environmental awareness. All of this is deeply rooted in audio design. nevertheless, ARC Raiders It was left off the list of games nominated for Best Audio Design at this year's Game Awards.
ARC Raiders won't win Best Audio Design at the 2025 Game Awards
While there was much heated discussion surrounding whether or not ARC Raiders It should have been nominated for Game of the Year, but it seems less controversial to say it should have at least been nominated for Best Audio Design. It was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game along with the following games: Battlefield 6 and Elden Ring NightlaneHowever, it was excluded from the award, which highlighted one of its most prioritized and praised characteristics.
The 2025 Game Awards Best Audio Design nominees are:
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Battlefield 6 (Battlefield Studios/EA)
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Claire Obsker: Expedition 33 (Sandfall Interactive/Kepler Interactive)
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Death Stranding 2: On the Beach (Kosima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Ghost of Yotei (Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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Silent Hill f (NeoBards Entertainment/KONAMI)
ARC Raiders'I think it's nice that the audio design was handled so well during development. Embark's goal during the game's development seemed to be not simply to refine the sound effects, but to build the entire game around them. Every ARC Wasp overhead, every explosion from a Rocketeer's missile in the distance, and even the wind blowing through the trees will tell the player everything they need to know about what's happening around them. ARC Raiders The entire gameplay loop had to be good, as it depends on how effective the audio production context is.
That's why it feels strange that it wasn't nominated for Best Audio Design. Because there are very few games that rely heavily on audio, or even directly on audio. ARC Raiders do. Since the game's release, players have agreed that the extraction shooter's sound design is impeccable, with user KawiWarrior posting on Reddit like this one asking players to pay tribute. Other Reddit posts, like this one from user ThrowghAway74, express similar sentiments, with fans calling in comments. ARC Raiders' The audio design was “amazing”, “so good” and “out of this world”.
ARC Raiders It's gained a reputation as a game built around listening, not just because of a marketing line, but because its entire identity has grown in a world that transitions to a slower pace and forces players to pay attention to every sound. This evolution has turned audio into the backbone of the experience, influencing how players move, plan, and survive. With that in mind, it's notable that it wasn't included in the Best Audio Design category. Because few games this year have intentionally built their core loop around sound as much as this year. ARC Raiders. Even if the awards show overlooked this, the reality is that players know what the game has achieved and the community has recognized the audio work since launch.
- released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Youth/Violence, Blood
