Right now, the hub world of Speranza in Arc Raiders is simply a series of menus that players flick through to buy items, manage their stash, and jump into a new match of the extraction shooter. But could the safe haven of the game’s unique post-apocalyptic world be something else?
Embark Studios CEO Patrick Soderland sees the hub world of Speranza as more than a series of menus, but an interactive hub where players can meet, chat, and maybe even trade items as they prepare between matches.
In the past, Soderland has already expressed a desire to expand Arc Raiders’ social features with in-game trading between characters. While fans have responded rather negatively to this idea, the promise of a full player home that fans can explore is very enticing.
“I, personally, am touched by all the social elements to this game and the things that make me and, I think, everyone else, believe in humanity again,” Soderland said in an interview with IGN. “There’s something very kind about that, in many aspects. Just as sometimes PvP can be exciting, frustrating, and thrilling, as well. Those are the aspects that we have to look into.”
The CEO explained that they believe “Speranza is heavily underutilised” in its launch state and is ripe for expansion. Right now, Speranza is not much of a game, despite being such a core location. “I think that’s something that we want to, probably, improve and make into something else,” he said.
Soderland explains that multiple aspects of the game should “be meeting points” where players can connect, both in friendly and unfriendly ways. The CEO explains that multiple locations could “be a social hub to some extent”, wondering “what more can we do with that?”
“How would Speranza – currently a fragmented series of menus and backgrounds – fill out “the lore of Arc Raiders”? the CEO pondered. Would it make for a better game? Would it make players feel like this location actually exists? I mean, anything more than a menu would probably be good, but would that make loading into a match more cumbersome?
Arc Raiders is already expanding a lot in 2026 with multiple new maps and plans for additional enemies. However, one day, I would like to be able to walk into my room in Speranza and interact with Scrappy outside of accepting his collection of guff he’s somehow found around the place.
