Even though the plans for Arc Raiders in 2026 look exciting, folks playing this online shooting game are really into something else right now. It has nothing to do with shooting other players or teaming up against the scary robots. What are they doing? They’re collecting rubber ducks, and a whole lot of them!

You might wonder why anyone would care about silly rubber toys instead of powerful weapons. Well, let me tell you, everyone loves finding a great gun or a special plan to build something. But when you make your storage area better, there’s a fun bonus: you can show off your favorite stuff in your own room in the game. The people who made the game, Embark Studios, also put in these rubber ducks you can find everywhere, making them perfect little treasures. It reminds me of a while back when everyone in another game called Splatoon 3 was putting little stone statues in their lockers. It was pretty funny.

You know a game is really good when players start doing nice, fun things like this instead of just trying to win all the time. It seems like the game makers at Embark know all about this duck craze, so

they put out on February 3rd made the ‘Bird City’ map show up more often. This map is part of a bigger area called the Buried City.

So, what does this all mean, and how does it help you find those special rubber birds? Well, this new map condition came out after a big cold spell that covered the game world in snow. Now that things are getting back to normal, real birds are coming back to the Buried City. You can often get into the ‘Bird City’ version of this area, which has more real birds and better chances to find good stuff. Keep an eye out for nests on top of chimneys too.

But watch out, those real birds aren’t your friends. Just like in other games where you have to sneak around, they’ll fly away in big groups if you get too close or make a lot of noise. You can probably guess why this is a problem in a game where almost anything can kill you in a flash.

Good news though, rubber ducks are among the special items you find more often when the ‘Bird City’ map is active. So, the new fun way to play is to keep going back to the Buried City over and over to grab all the different toy ducks. It’s like they’re the game’s version of those special Funko Pop figures or Tubbz bath toys that people collect.

Anyway, it’s nice to see players chasing after something other than just the best weapons and risky, high-reward adventures in a game that can be as nerve-wracking as Arc Raiders. Maybe soon we can even bring that rooster character, Scrappy, to the surface too. We should start suggesting that idea!