ARC Raiders is a phenomenon, that much we all knew. But it’s rare for modern games to step out of their digital boundaries and enter the actual, thus becoming cornerstones of our contemporary culture. But ARC Raiders has done it, naturally in collaboration with one of the most iconic cultural products of our time.
In a surprising twist, ARC Raiders has collaborated with South Park, making a small but meaningful appearance in the show’s fourth episode Turkey Trot. In the episode, one character, called Tolkien Black, is playing ARC Raiders on his Xbox while Cartman is begging him to join the annual Turkey Trot race that is sponsored by, surprise, surprise, Saudi Arabia. The whole episode pokes fun at various aspects of contemporary culture and is oddly relevant to gaming on a deep level.
ARC Raiders primarily features as background noise, but there are a few actual gameplay snippets that appear, which were provided to South Park‘s creators by Embark Studios itself. Ashley St. Germain, Embark’s marketing lead, said on LinkedIn that it took only a couple of days to set the collab up after South Park reached out to the studio this Monday.
“On Monday South Park inquired if a character could play ARC Raiders in an upcoming episode, on Tuesday we provided footage, and on Wednesday we were in S28’s “Turkey Trot” episode, she wrote.
This is a major achievement for ARC Raiders, given how much cultural impact South Park has. The show is always in touch with the latest phenomena in global and American life, and it warms my heart to see a great game and studio be recognized as culturally relevant enough to feature in one of the episodes. It could’ve been Battlefield 6 or even Call of Duty, but as they always do, the creators of South Park recognized who’s the most deserving of a highlight.
It’s a small “token” of appreciation to Embark Studios, and one it fully deserves.
The episode did not stop there. Saudi Arabia gets made fun of a ton, being represented as a country that gives money to anyone who asks for it, in exchange for some sweet promotion.
EA Games, one of the biggest gaming publishers, was recently acquired by the Saudis, and they have also ventured into the world of esports, and even cooperated with Ubisoft on a new Assassin’s Creed update. Saudi Arabia is gunning for cultural influence and impact on the global stage, and it’s no wonder it was specifically targeted by South Park.
Thankfully, ARC Raiders isn’t the byproduct of nefarious collaborations with authoritarian regimes. Even so, the shadow of Saudi Money looms heavily on video games, and it’s likely only going to keep getting darker.
