Game*Spark and Automaton Face Off in 'ARC Raiders' Duck Toy Raid
The collaboration highlights how 'ARC Raiders' player-driven freedom can generate emergent narratives and rivalries even between competing media outlets, turning a simple item-collection contest into a memorable in-game drama.
Reporting from 2 sources: Automaton, Game Spark.
Japanese game media outlets Game*Spark and AUTOMATON held a collaborative event in the extraction shooter 'ARC Raiders' on May 29, 2026, that ended with a direct competition over in-game duck toys. The event followed a previous co-op session where an AUTOMATON editor betrayed a Game*Spark writer, creating a grudge. For the rematch, the two editors ran solo raids for one hour on the 'Buried City (Bird City)' map, collecting duck toys of varying rarities for points. AUTOMATON won with 77 points against Game*Spark's 35. The loser, Game*Spark's writer, had to donate high-rarity items from their stash to the winner in a subsequent raid, but a mistake left the AUTOMATON editor stranded without an extraction key, resulting in the items being lost to other players. The event was not an official game mode but a self-organized challenge.
The "Duck Toy Raid" was a self-organized challenge, not an official game mode, devised by the Game*Spark editorial team. The rules included a one-hour time limit, solo raids on the "Buried City (Bird City)" map, and a point system based on duck toy rarity: common (white) items were worth 1 point, uncommon (green) 2 points, rare (blue) 3 points, and epic (purple) 5 points. The loser faced a penalty of donating high-rarity items from their stash to the winner in a subsequent raid, a process adapted from a method used in the overseas community.
Game*Spark's writer, Keyboard Umi, described his loadout philosophy as prioritizing "quickly getting to a good position," "calmly responding to accidents," and keeping the total cost of gear low enough that losing it all would not hurt. He also carried healing items to act as a "rogue medic," rescuing unknown raiders. During the contest, Umi collected 10 common duck toys, 2 "Southern Ducks" (uncommon), 4 "Gentleman Ducks" (uncommon), 2 "Alien Ducks" (uncommon), 3 "Mischief Ducks" (rare), and 0 epic ducks, for a total of 35 points.
AUTOMATON's editor Fujiwara gathered 1 common duck toy, 4 "Southern Ducks," 7 "Gentleman Ducks," 3 "Alien Ducks," 3 "Flashy Ducks" (rare), 3 "Mischief Ducks," and 6 "Ordinary Ducks" (epic), scoring 77 points. After the loss, Umi prepared a backpack full of epic and rare items for the penalty raid. However, a mistake left the AUTOMATON editor stranded without an extraction key, leading to the items being lost to other players. The Game*Spark article notes that the map condition "Bird City" is a special variant available only at certain times, offering higher chances for rare duck toys but also increased risk from flying ARCs and other players.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.