Arc Raiders Developer Jokes After Game Title Is Censored — Then Revealed — in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Lobby Chat: “We’re still on track to release * ***** on October 30th!”

Activision told PC Gamer the issue was caused by an error in the lobby text filters rather than deliberate censorship.

According to Kotaku, the filter has since been fixed and you can now type “Arc Raiders” in Black Ops 7 chat without it being replaced by asterisks. I also confirmed on PC that the game’s title displayed normally in a Black Ops 7 lobby.

Embark took the situation in good humor, tweeting on X: “We’re still on track to release *** ******* on October 30th!” along with a promotional image that humorously censors the title.

We’re still on track to release *** ******* on October 30th! pic.twitter.com/YfV6vacqfEOctober 6, 2025

Personally, I’m willing to accept Activision’s explanation. It seems odd that a filter would single out Arc Raiders specifically, but attempting to suppress a rival’s name would almost certainly amplify attention through social sharing and coverage. It seems unlikely they’d take such a counterproductive step intentionally.

My read is that a text-filtering rule inadvertently flagged “Arc Raiders” for an unknown reason. Either way, it’s good to see Embark treating the mishap lightheartedly rather than taking offense.

The 5th most-wishlisted game on Steam, ex-Battlefield devs’ extraction shooter Arc Raiders, was delayed 3 years because they realized it sucked: “This game is not fun”

 

Source: gamesradar.com