Why Riven Tides Matters for Arc Raiders
Arc Raiders has quickly carved out a niche as a comparatively forgiving extraction-style co-op shooter, mixing tense PvE robot hunts with flashes of PvP and social chaos. The new Arc Raiders update, Riven Tides (version 1.26.0), is the latest in a rapid cadence of monthly patches that keep returning players busy and help newcomers catch up. This patch ushers in a fresh map, also called Riven Tides, alongside a new Arc Turbine enemy and a Beachcombing map condition that changes how runs play out. For veterans who survived earlier eras like Flashpoint and Shrouded Sky, the update represents another reason to dive back into Speranza’s dangerous topside. For lapsed players, it is positioned as a soft relaunch moment: a compact new area to learn, more mini-bosses to chase, and new gear to grind. Unfortunately, it has also become a textbook example of how easily a live service update can break core systems.
New Map, Events, and Quests in the Riven Tides Patch
On content alone, Riven Tides is substantial. The namesake map is a smaller, beach-themed zone packed with every enemy type, designed for quick but intense excursions rather than sprawling marathons. Beachcombing adds a twist: grabbing a Dockmaster’s Detector lets players scour the coast for buried treasure, layering extra risk–reward onto standard runs. The Arc Turbine mini-boss roams these areas, dropping unique parts that feed into builds and projects. A limited-time event, Last Resort, runs until May 25 and hands out Merits for XP and collectible toy ships, unlocking an exclusive outfit, backpack, and 250 Raider Tokens. Six new quests—such as Line in the Sand, Safe Harbor, and Collision Course—encourage players to explore Riven Tides and revisit older hotspots, even if the rewards are less flashy than the unique weapons added in the earlier Flashpoint update. On paper, it is exactly the kind of co-op shooter update Arc Raiders needed.
How Riven Tides Broke Arc Raiders Crossplay
The catch is that the Riven Tides patch has effectively disabled Arc Raiders crossplay for many players. After updating to version 1.26.0, users on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC have reported that the crossplay option in the settings menu is now turned off and cannot be toggled back on. As a result, matchmaking and squad formation are currently siloed by platform, cutting off friend groups that span different systems and reducing the overall pool of available teammates. For a co-op-driven extraction shooter, this is a serious blow: fewer players means longer queue times, less stable lobbies, and a weaker social loop at precisely the moment a big content drop should be pulling the community together. While solo or same-platform squads can still enjoy the new map and event, the headline promise of seamless, multi-platform raiding is temporarily out of reach.
Embark’s Response and What Players Can Do Now
Embark’s community lead, Dusty Gustafsson, quickly acknowledged the Arc Raiders crossplay issue on the official Discord, confirming that the team is investigating and will update players when it is resolved. She also outlined a temporary workaround: fully restoring all settings to default can re-enable crossplay for some users. However, this wipes custom options, and Gustafsson explicitly suggested that anyone uncomfortable with that should wait for a proper fix as the studio works on a better solution. In practice, the safest way to play right now is to form squads on a single platform and focus on PvE-heavy activities—Riven Tides expeditions, Arc Turbine hunts, Beachcombing, and the Last Resort event—where matchmaking friction is less punishing. Players should watch upcoming patch notes closely for any mention of crossplay restoration and avoid large setting overhauls unless they are willing to risk another reset once the official fix rolls out.
A Familiar Live Service Problem for Co-op Shooters
Riven Tides underlines a broader pattern of live service game issues: the bigger and more frequent the content drops, the easier it is for fundamental systems to crack. Arc Raiders has been updated monthly with new maps, enemies, conditions, and quests, an ambitious schedule for any co-op shooter update. Each patch touches matchmaking, balance, and progression, increasing the risk that a seemingly minor change—like a settings flag—can unexpectedly disable something as crucial as crossplay. Other live games have stumbled in similar ways, breaking progression, inventories, or network features right when they need player goodwill the most. For Arc Raiders, the lesson is clear: crossplay is not a bonus feature but core infrastructure, and it needs the same level of regression testing as new maps or enemies. For players, it is a reminder to treat major patches cautiously, especially when your favorite way to play depends on multiple platforms staying in sync.