Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun stomps onto Game Pass soon

And for your kids, there’s Bluey: The Videogame and Maneater coming

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Microsoft are bringing Maneater back to Game Pass. Yesterday they unveiled the next batches of Game Pass additions and two are returnees, with the delightful fighty platformer Indivisible accompanying brutal shark ’em up Maneater. What’s more important is that it’s adding the game with the cutest little Nurglings, grimdark retro-styled FPS Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. The rhetoric of ‘purging xenos and heretics’ surely doesn’t apply to these darling babies . Read on for all the games coming to (and going from) Game Pass over the next few weeks.

Return To Grace- available now

I haven’t played the retrofuturistic first-person explore-o-story which pokes at the fractured remains of a godlike AI, but I know Alice Bee talked about it on the podcast and has—for RPS supporters only, sorry—written about that 60s style .

Image credit:Creative Bytes Studios

Tales Of Arise- available now

“It takes a little time to warm up to Tales of Arise’s main characters (ironic, when two of them wield the powers of hell itself), but once you’re over that hump, you’re left with a charming JRPG powered by a battle system that never slows down,” said our Tales Of Arise review in 2021.

Bluey: The Videogame- February 22nd

I know little about this but resident child-haver Graham had a lot of praise for Bluey: The Cartoon Which Inspired The Video Game when it launched last year. “Do I have a reasonable expectation that any of this will make for a good video game when it releases on November 17th?” he wrote. “No, not really, but thank goodness I finally have an excuse to write about Bluey.”

Madden NFL 24 - February 27th

It’s like Madden NFL 23 but a bit newer. Look, if you’re interested, you already know.

Maneater- February 27th

Honestly, I’m installing this just to check out the pretty underwater scenes. Might as well do a few cool sharkmurders while I’m there, though I probably won’t stick around. Nate’s Maneater review called it “an ecstatically violent simulation of being a fool’s idea of a shark, which long outstays its welcome when stretched into a repetitive open world game.” It has been on Game Pass before, leaving in June 2023.

Indivisible- February 28th

Coming from ill-fated Skullgirls developers Lab Zero Games, Indivisible merges that fighting game heritage with platformers and action-RPGs for skillful violence with oodles of party members. Our Indivisible review said, “It won’t change your life, but it’s a pleasant romp, extremely pretty, and clearly made with a lot of love.”

Space Engineers- February 29th

Ten years after the sandbox space craft-o-building game entered early access (and four after its full launch), our readers declared it your 22nd favourite space game . I have also enjoyed reading about scrappy creations and the cataclysmic betrayal when Alice, Nate, and Matt played together.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun- March 5th

Ooh nice for me! I’ve kept meaning to buy the retro-styled FPS, as a fan of both 40K and Rahul Kohli (who voices the protagonist, Spice Maureen) so yes thanks go on. Our Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun review last year declared, “It’s a highly entertaining shooter that had me grinning from ear to ear on many an occasion, and is one of, if not the best representation of the Warhammer 40,000 universe available on your personal cogitation device.” Even better than the grimy guts of Darktide’s hive city? I’ll have to see about that.

Those are mostly in the future so if you’re looking for a Game Pass pick to play right now, I strongly recommend Brotato , my secret favourite game of 2023. The roguelikelike arena survival shmup is so moreish that I had to uninstall it and try to forget, for my own good.

Microsoft’s blog post also announced two games will leave Game Pass on the 29th of February: Madden NFL 22 and Soul Hackers 2 .

Bluey: The Videogame

Video Game

Indivisible

PS4 , Xbox One , PC , Mac , Nintendo Switch

Madden NFL 24

Video Game

Maneater

PC

Return To Grace

PC

Space Engineers

Xbox One , PC

Tales Of Arise

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC , Nintendo Switch 2

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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Still Wakes the Deep, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun and Deathsprint 66 makers to lay off hundreds of staff

Image credit:Focus Entertainment

Sumo Group, the British video game collective which owns developers Sumo Digital, publishers Secret Mode and more - including Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture devs The Chinese Room - is laying off hundreds of staff, cutting 15% of their workforce “to better navigate the upcoming challenges expected in the coming months”.

The news came just a couple of days after Secret Mode showed off upcoming PC releases Critter Café, freerunning Mario Kart-but-deadly-a-like Deathsprint 66 and The Chinese Room’s next moody title Still Wakes the Deep during Summer Games Fest over the weekend, with Sumo Digital chirpily celebrating the “busy weekend” on Monday . The very next day, Sumo Group - which owns the various Sumo Digital studios - released a separate announcement of layoffs, stating that they would be “reshaping operations” to “to ensure the security of the business going forward”.

The layoffs will hit up to 15% of the entire group’s workforce across its 19 UK, Canadian, Polish, Czech and Indian offices - meaning up to 270 people may be affected, going by the latest headcount of 1,790 on the company’s website .

Well… we’ve had a busy weekend! 😅 ICYMI @WeAreSecretMode announced @CritterCafeGame at @_WholesomeGames AND showed exclusive gameplay of @DeathSprint66 at the @pcgamer Show, alongside a haunting launch trailer for @SWTD_Game 🌊 ..We’re off for a lie-down! pic.twitter.com/nHtDCJXxHc — Sumo Digital (@SumoDigitalLtd) June 10, 2024

“This is an incredibly challenging process to go through for everyone at Sumo and our focus is now on supporting our people and working with our partners on their games as we move forward to ensure we emerge from this difficult time, ready for the future,” Sumo wrote. Good luck to all those affected.

Deathsprint 66

PC

Hogwarts Legacy

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Still Wakes The Deep

Video Game

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun

PC

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