Arc Raiders AI: how the ARC machines actually work
Two different things get called "Arc Raiders AI", and people searching for it usually want one or the other. The first is the machine learning Embark Studios used to teach the ARC machines how to move. The second is the argument about the game's AI-generated voice lines. This page answers both, then points at the detail.
The short version
The machines do not learn you. Embark trained how the ARC machines move with reinforcement learning, which its machine learning research lead Martin Singh-Blom calls "a deep learning method people use for robotics". He told 80.lv in March 2026 that it is "strictly for locomotion, such as how the robot places its feet and moves", and that "We're not doing online learning or anything like that." Nothing learns from you during a raid. What you fight is physically simulated movement plus a conventional detection and aggro state machine.
The voice lines are the part that was AI. Arc Raiders launched with some text-to-speech dialogue, from voice actors Embark says it hires and contracts, and pays to license their voices for that use. A March 2026 report of a GamesIndustry.biz interview with CEO Patrick Söderlund says certain lines have been re-recorded and the game has fewer AI-generated lines than at release. In his words: "A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is."
What that means when a machine is looking at you
Read the scanner laser. Blue is patrolling and has not noticed anything. Yellow means something got its attention and it is investigating, which is a window, not a death sentence. Red means it has you.
Noise and sight are what move it between those states: gunfire, sprinting in the open, a bullet passing close, another machine in distress, a metal detector or motion sensor you walked through. Your voice is not on that list. Players hear each other over proximity chat, the machines do not hear any of it.
Go deeper
- Arc Raiders Machine Learning: How the ARC Enemy AI Really Works: The ARC do not learn your habits mid raid. Embark used reinforcement learning to teach them to walk, balance and climb. Here is what that changes in a fight.
- ARC Raiders Detection: Scanner Colors and How to Stay Unseen: Blue, yellow and red scanner lights tell you what an ARC machine knows. What alerts them, what does not, and the stealth routine that keeps you unseen.
- Arc Raiders AI Voice Acting: The Controversy, Explained: Arc Raiders shipped with text-to-speech voice lines licensed from paid actors. What Embark said, why players objected, and what changed after launch.
- Arc Raiders ARC Enemies Guide: Machines and Weak Points: The ARC machines this guide covers, by threat tier: behaviour, weak points, the ammo that actually penetrates armor, and the mistake each punishes.
- Arc Raiders ARC AI Patch History: Every Change to the Machines: A dated list of every Arc Raiders patch we can source that changed ARC machines: perception, spawning, target selection and the new units, newest first.
Common questions
Do the ARC enemies in Arc Raiders learn your behaviour?
No. This is the most common misconception about the game. Embark Studios used machine learning to teach the ARC machines how to move, and only that: Martin Singh-Blom, its machine learning research lead, told 80.lv in March 2026 that "We're not doing online learning or anything like that." The machines do not learn from you during play. What they do have is physically simulated movement, which makes them react to the world in ways that look improvised, and that is why so many players believe they are learning.
How does the AI in Arc Raiders work?
Two different systems get called AI here and they are worth separating. The first is the machine learning behind ARC movement: reinforcement learning, which Singh-Blom calls "a deep learning method people use for robotics", trained in controlled scenarios Embark builds, not on live raids. The second is ordinary game AI: the detection and aggro state machine that decides whether a machine is patrolling, investigating or hunting you. The state machine is what you actually play against moment to moment.
How do ARC machines detect you in Arc Raiders?
By sight and by noise. Gunfire, sprinting in their line of sight, a bullet passing close, another machine in distress, and triggered metal detectors or motion sensors will all draw them. Their scanner laser tells you where you stand: blue means patrolling, yellow means something got their attention and they are investigating, red means they have you. Notably they cannot hear your actual voice, so proximity chat does not give you away to them.
Was Arc Raiders made with AI?
Partly, and the specific part is voice. Arc Raiders launched with some text-to-speech voice lines, from voice actors Embark says it hires and contracts, and pays to license their voices for that use. Design director Virgil Watkins told PCGamesN the game "in no way uses generative AI whatsoever". A March 2026 report of a GamesIndustry.biz interview with CEO Patrick Söderlund says certain lines have been re-recorded and the game has fewer AI-generated lines than at release; in his words, "A real professional actor is better than AI; that's just how it is." The situation has changed since release and may change again.
Is Arc Raiders AI the same as ARC Raiders the game?
No. Arc Raiders AI is a free fan-made companion site for the game, with a quest tracker, item database, interactive maps and strategy guides. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Embark Studios, and it is not part of the game's voice-acting story.
Arc Raiders AI is a free fan-made companion site. Not affiliated with Embark Studios.