The first Arc Raiders wipe blesses the game's top grinders with a surprise cinematic no one expected

While the first Arc Raiders wipe window opened last week, today finally saw the game's most dedicated looters depart Speranza one last time before resetting their accounts and characters. While some extraction shooters force account wipes on all players, Arc Raiders makes this optional, incentivizing you to do so with boosts and bonuses for the next cycle and exclusive rewards. However, there's one final treat players didn't know was coming - a cinematic ending that shows you leaving Speranza (and Scrappy the chicken) one last time.

I'm a big fan of the way Embark Studios is handling wipes. Arc Raiders' balance of accessibility and challenge is arguably the main reasons it's quickly become one of the best multiplayer games around, and the Expedition Project system is the perfect example of this in action. Something that can only be achieved by the most dedicated of players, completing your Expedition Project and resetting your character is not only a badge of honor, but a way to refresh your experience. However, for those who didn't reach the requirements, you can simply keep plowing ahead and wait for the next wipe window in around eight weeks' time, or if you're a top player who simply wants to keep your stash of high-tier loot, you can carry on as you were.

While wiping will clear out your stash, strip you of your cash, and reset systems like workbenches and skill trees, there are benefits. For the next eight-week cycle, your new character gets 12 extra stash spaces, some bonus skill points to invest in your refreshed skill tree, and buffs that'll give you bonuses such as increased XP gain. You also unlock an exclusive skin, which I have to admit is less impressive than I thought it would be having now seen it in players' lockers. It's rather understated, if anything.

However, those wiping today, December 22, also received something unexpected - a cinematic cutscene. Aiming to tug on the old heartstrings, it sees you exit your room in Speranza, giving a salute to your dear rooster, Scrappy. You then walk through the underground city's central hub area as some somber music plays.

After that, you enter one of the tunnel entrances and approach a raider pod, with a voice in the background shouting, "Who the hell's gonna look after that damn chicken, huh?" You then clamber into the pod, and briefly hesitate before pulling the hatch shut and being blasted up to the surface.

Finally, things end on a shot of your destroyed pod and your character walking off into the distance in a sandy location I can't really identify. Maybe it's Buried City? But aside from similar street lights, there's nothing else that identifies it as such.

What follows (but sadly isn't shown in the footage captured by 'CDG' above) is a summary of your raider's stats prior to wiping. Scrolling down the screen like end credits, this shows you how many different Arc enemies you've defeated, how many players you've knocked and eliminated, your most commonly crafted item, and much more.

I do wonder what will happen with future wipes. Will the same cutscene play again, with your stats being updated accordingly? Or perhaps Embark will use this to plant story seeds and get the lore heads talking, and a different cinematic will play each time to create a narrative over time. Well, we've only got eight weeks to wait before we find out the answer.