A whole year of silence looked like they have been cooking something rather than chasing quick wins. Embark Studios just told players that THE FINALS is getting a proper glow-up on October 20.
Executive producer Christian Aarsrud laid it out in a blog post: instead of the usual three-month update cycle, the studio set one big goal for the entire year and poured its energy into fixing and deepening what already exists. That’s a refreshing change from the “new season, new skins, see ya in twelve weeks” approach most live service shooters lean on.
The biggest glow-up in the game is destruction mechanics, where buildings and the environment will degrade properly rather than exploding on cue. Everything from floor sagging to walls leaning will look and feel like you have actually earned. It’s a small detail, but it’s the kind of thing that makes THE FINALS‘ whole identity (blowing everything to bits) hit that much harder.
They haven’t forgotten about the Arenas either; they are being reworked, with better lighting, upgraded materials, and broader design tweaks aimed at how each map actually plays, not just how it looks in a trailer.
Then there’s the sponsor system, which Embark wants to matter far more than it currently does. Right now, picking a sponsor at the start of a season feels like ticking a box on a progression menu. Embark’s aiming to turn that into something with actual identity and personality, alongside a reworked presentation for Contestants, teams and Arenas that leans harder into the game show fantasy the title’s built around.
Three years in, most shooters start coasting. THE FINALS looks like it’s doing the opposite.
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