Embark Ends PS4 Support for The Finals as Arc Raiders Becomes 2025’s Breakout Hit

Currently, Embark Studios is experiencing the most significant moment in its career. Arc Raiders, the latest game from the studio, has made its way to becoming one of the most popular and rated games of 2025. The game, despite the controversy surrounding AI-generated voice work and steep prices for cosmetic items, has gained and continues to gain even more momentum.

The Steam numbers indicate a gradual increase, the game’s active participants are increasing, and among the critics, the game is getting positive comments even though it has secured just one nomination at The Game Awards 2025. However, the success of Arc Raiders has overshadowed Embark’s earlier project, The Finals, even more.

The Finals on the PS4 platform is shutting down

Embark Studios has announced the end of support for The Finals of the PS4 version on 18^th March 2026, which will overlap with the launch of Season 10. This decision was taken less than a year after the PS4 version was made accessible to the public in December 2024, which is an abnormally brief support period for a live-service shooter.

Embark said that the company’s intention is “focusing our support on current generation hardware.” After 18^th March, the people playing the game on PS4 will not receive updates or support, practically making that version of the game for the PS4 outdated.

It is guaranteed that the users’ Embark ID secures all progress, purchases, and account data. So whoever has an Embark ID can continue playing on PS5, PC, or any other supported platform without losing even a single unlock.

The studio added, “From that point on you’ll need to play there to keep enjoying the game. Your progress and purchases will be stored in your Embark ID and will transfer to anywhere you choose to play.” 

The end of the PlayStation 4 era

The decision taken by the company is not at all a surprise for gamers who are feeling very disappointed at the moment. The PS4 console has now been around for 12 years, and the amount of effort done by developers to keep it alive has been tremendous, but the streaming services at some point cannot be done without the current high-end hardware in their processing power, memory, and bandwidth.

This current generation has experienced very long support times for the last-gen consoles, which is quite unusual. The main reason behind it is the supply shortages, which were experienced during the early PS5/Series X rollout. But as the developers continue to create more and more spectacular worlds, along with very complex gameplay systems and robust infrastructure for the multiplayer community, the gap between the generations becomes more and more difficult to close.

The Next Phase

Embark announced it is “incredibly grateful” for its PS4 community, however it seems very clear that this is the way the next phase of the industry looks like. A trend of more studios is expected, where retiring of last-gen versions will be earlier and will be completely switching to PS5 and high-end PC as their baseline.

For now, Embark is determined to Arc Raiders while keeping The Finals alive, only not on outdated hardware. As the studio advances in stature and audience, the choice it makes may become the rule rather than the exception.

Bottom Line

Embark’s announcement may be painful for the supporters of PS4, but it still reveals a more general fact that the live-service shooters’ future is the hardware that can provide them the support. The gamers continue to pursue a bigger world and more sophisticated systems, thus compromises are no longer a viable option.

The Finals is not being left behind, it is just transferred to the platforms that can evolve with it. Meanwhile, Arc Raiders takes the lead, dragging the studio and its customers into a new era.