Arc Raiders lead is "super aware" of demand for custom loadouts that save us 100 clicks, admits he sometimes runs a free loadout because he can't be bothered making one

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Arc Raiders lead is "super aware" of demand for custom loadouts that save us 100 clicks, admits he sometimes runs a free loadout because he can't be bothered making one News By Austin Wood published 14 January 2026

"Looking through a bunch of menus isn't necessarily" good, he says

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Arc Raiders loadouts won't be added next week or anything like that, but developer Embark Studios is "super aware" of demands for a faster way to gear up.

That's according to design lead Virgil Watkins, who discussed a few points of friction in an interview with GamesRadar+. Asked about potential plans to implement saved custom loadouts that, with one glorious click, could craft and/or equip a set of gear and items specified by the player, Watkins says "all of this stuff is things we've talked about."

"Similar to things like the Expedition, a lot of it was just developers and time available up to launch," he says. "Now it's just really feeling out how we can prioritize it against other known things we need to do, or swapping priorities of something we were going to do with this based on what's feasible."

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I told Watkins that I'll sometimes use a free loadout after dying, even with a stuffed stash, purely because I can't be bothered in the moment to go through 100 clicks in 15 menus to make a proper custom loadout. "I've literally done the same thing," he says, "where I'm like, 'I'm just gonna go free this time, guys, let's just go and get in there and do stuff.' It's completely acknowledged."

Watkins says he "won't speak for our UI/UX team," but does comment on the advantages of saved loadouts.

"I think that's a completely valuable thing, where it just attempts to do its best job to fulfill your request with your loadout," he says. "It's like, 'Well, you're short on this resource and that resource, here's what you get,' that type of thing.

"We've already done what we can to get the matchmaking and stuff as fast as possible. So if we can, not to say keep you out of the front end, but get you through the front end faster, I think that's a great ambition too. Because you're like, let's get back in there. And you know, there's points in games where friction is good, and spending time is good, and making you be attentive is good. Looking through a bunch of menus isn't necessarily it."

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"We can track who shoots first": Arc Raiders design lead says aggression-based matchmaking is "a bit of a misnomer," and "we don't do anything like skill-based matchmaking or gear-based."

CATEGORIES PS5 Xbox Series X PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox Austin WoodSocial Links NavigationSenior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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