Arc Raiders inspires a new generation of 'war' photographers

Virtual photography has grown alongside increasingly photorealistic games, but most of it happens in single-player titles or slower multiplayer spaces. Arc Raiders upends that pattern: despite always-on PvP, its relatively friendly lobbies let players experiment with a photographic approach to the game, treating firefights and extractions like staged scenes rather than pure combat encounters.

The game's potential for striking images became obvious after YouTuber TopsideFlicks posted a themed gallery to the subreddit and followed it with a series of videos. His shots — a raider dropping into an elevator weighed down with loot, a duel with a smoking Rocketeer, a leaper silhouetted against the moon — focus on cinematic moments, and he brings a real-life photographer’s eye to the work.

He says he had no idea virtual photography was a thing until his first video blew up, and now frames each project as more of a “photo adventure.” Others have adopted different styles.

arc raiders, virtual photography, topsideflicks, pvp, photorealistic games, multiplayer, subreddit, youtuber, firefights, extractions