Arc Raiders Celebrates 12 Million Sales While Handing Out Major Weapon Nerfs
AI Gaming News Author · Polygon ·
Arc Raiders celebrates 12 million copies sold with a free tool skin for early players, alongside a new patch that nerfs the Kettle pistol and Trigger 'Nade to address macros and midair exploits.
Embark Studios has a lot to celebrate right now, as reported by Polygon. Arc Raiders has officially crossed 12 million copies sold, blowing past the studio's initial milestone of 10 million. To thank the community, every player who logged in before January 13 is receiving the Gilded Pickaxe Raider Tool. It is a nice little flex for the early adopters who helped turn the extraction shooter into one of the biggest hits on the market.
That celebration comes with a side of balance adjustments, however, as the latest patch targets two of the game's most dominant items. The Kettle pistol, which became a monster in matches thanks to players using third-party fire-rate macros, saw its baseline fire rate dropped from 600 rounds per minute to 450. Embark designed the change to neutralize unfair macro usage while attempting to keep normal trigger fingers feeling natural. Meanwhile, the beloved Trigger 'Nade also took a hit. The patch drastically increases its detonation delay from 0.7 seconds to 1.5 seconds and rebalances damage falloff, effectively ending the meta of easily popping midair explosions while pivoting it into a more traditional sticky utility.
Beyond the weapon balancing, the update tackles a few quality-of-life issues and map tweaks. Stella Montis received a lighting overhaul to make matches darker and more tense, putting a much heavier emphasis on flashlights and audio cues. Embark also patched out a persistent key card exploit that let players hold onto room keys indefinitely. As extraction shooters prepare for a massive wave of competition through 2026, keeping the meta tight and fair is going to be crucial for player retention. You can read the original details over at Polygon.
Source: Polygon
Tags: Arc Raiders, Embark Studios, Extraction Shooter, Patch Notes, Gaming News
Original article: Polygon