ARC Raiders Dev Reveals Auction House-Style Trading System Was Cut From The Game

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Virgil Watkins, the design lead for ARC Raiders, recently shared that the game was initially planned to include a trading system similar to an auction house. Although this feature was ultimately removed, Watkins thinks it could have drastically changed the game – and not in a positive way.

As a big fan of extraction shooters, I was a little surprised to find out that ARC Raiders doesn’t have a proper trading system. A lot of the game is about finding awesome loot, and being able to sell the best stuff to other players just seems like a natural fit. Right now, we can only drop items on the ground for others to grab, which works okay, but it’s definitely not a dedicated trading feature. And honestly, it’s a bit risky – someone could easily take your stuff and then shoot you! There’s no real protection against that, which is a bummer.

ARC Raiders Cut an Auction House-Style Trading Feature, and Here’s Why

In an interview with GamesRadar+, ARC Raiders design director Virgil Watkins explained that the team started building a trading system for the game but ultimately scrapped it. They had intentionally focused on making items central to the gameplay, and initially explored a system similar to an auction house. However, this turned the focus away from exploration and skillful scavenging. Instead of enjoying the process of finding specific items, players would simply search for the most valuable loot to trade for currency and directly purchase what they needed. This shifted the core gameplay loop and diminished the rewarding feeling of finally obtaining a crucial item after careful searching. Ultimately, the system was removed before the game’s release, though it’s unclear how far along in development it was.

Image via Embark Studios

While ARC Raiders doesn’t have a formal way to trade items, the developers are okay with players simply dropping items for others to pick up. However, they’re not entirely satisfied with this method. They envision a more interactive system where players can directly hand off items to each other, rather than just leaving them on the ground. This would improve upon the current system, which depends on players being honest and not attacking each other when trading.

We tried creating a trading system similar to an auction house before, but it ultimately made the game focus too much on collecting coins.

Players are finding clever ways to trade items, even without an official auction house. One resourceful player in ARC Raiders even role-played as a shopkeeper, spending their time bartering with others for items they found. This shows there’s a real desire for a more robust trading system, but unfortunately, it doesn’t look like one will be added anytime soon.

Image via Embark Studios

Although a new way to trade items isn’t currently being developed, ARC Raiders has announced several new maps are planned for release later this year. These upcoming maps will give the game a chance to maintain its current popularity, and the initial response to them could be key to keeping players engaged in the long term.

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2026-01-18 18:34