I’ve been singing the praises of The Finals ever since it launched. It’s firmly and comfortably the king of free-to-play shooters out there right now, feeling like the true next-gen FPS of its generation. After a year of explosive, building-wrecking carnage, The Finals Season 6 marks a crossroads for Embark Studios after a somewhat lackluster Season 5. After spending a few hours alongside studio devs and fellow journalists within Season 6’s overhauled Las Vegas arena, this update is a moment for the developer to reflect.
Let’s get the biggest question out of the way early: is there a new map? Well, kind of. The Finals Season 6 doesn’t feature a wholly original arena akin to Fortune Stadium or Bernal before it. Instead, Embark walks it back to Las Vegas, giving the glitz and glamour of Nevada a strong eSports-leaning overhaul. In-game sponsors grace the halls of every interior, pathways, and traversal route adjustments help to improve firefight flow. It’s cut from the same cloth as Fortune Stadium, emanating vibrant splashes of color throughout a world that wouldn’t feel out of place among the neon daze of movies like Tron: Legacy.
When I heard about Las Vegas’s makeover through the grapevine before the event, I was admittedly disappointed to learn Season 6 wouldn’t be giving us a brand-new map. While that feeling hasn’t completely evaporated, my time with the overhauled Las Vegas still rang true to the FPS game’s incredible action that no other shooter is even close to replicating. With Season 5 launching in December 2024 and Season 7 set for June this year, the six-month wait for an original map has to be worth it.
As I stepped foot into Las Vegas with my Asus ROG Ally prepared for a showdown, I experimented with Embark’s latest arsenal offerings: the M134 Minigun (Heavy), CB-01 lever-action marksman rifle (Medium), and ARN-220 tactical assault rifle with coupled mags (Light). Adding an AR to the Light class is a surefire way to annoy squads, especially when you use it with the Evasive Dash.
In my experience, the risk/reward of high recoil with a blistering fire rate added kept skirmishes sweaty. The addition of a quick reload magazine makes it viable to outpace enemies, although I’d like to see it implemented across the other ARs like the AKM. There is a selection of newly added scopes, though.
I’ve never been much of a shotgun or marksman rifle user in The Finals, so the CB-01 didn’t quite land with me. It packs a hefty punch over some of its class contemporaries, but the undisputed champion of this update is the M134 Minigun. I’m almost certain that Embark Studios will nerf it, as all weapons are in time, but in this preview build, it dominates. Playing in the returning and now permanent Team Deathmatch playlist, my entire team switched to the Heavy class just to reign hellfire down on anything in its path. The sound of it is grin-inducingly loud, spinning up the cylinders with a rumble to raise the hairs on the back of my neck.
However, while three weapons joining the game’s roster is neat, those of you looking for gadgets won’t be thrilled. Season 6 doesn’t include any new gadgets at launch, leaving Season 7 to pick up the baton in June. After some weaker additions in Season 5 like the Gravity Vortex, and my general disdain for Season 5, I’m pinning all my hopes on Season 7 to deliver in this aspect. The real highlight of Season 6 is Embark’s push to improve the action game’s already strong quality of life.
In a presentation before the preview session, creative director Gustav Tilleby expressed the importance of ensuring “fairer gameplay” for all. Meaningful updates across the board have been in the works for some time, and Season 6 is the start of applying them steadily. Smaller touches include the option to save outfits and switch between them on the fly during the loadout screen before a match begins. Others include stylish UI changes to the in-game store, a ‘dressing room’ to try on every cosmetic before purchasing it, and a dedicated section for appearance-based changes like hair and makeup in the character creator menu.
These cosmetic-focused changes are tinged with some Fortnite flavor, making the ease of access to the game’s many menus breezier than before. A selection of newly introduced body types is arriving for the Heavy class, opting for a muscular build for all that’d make Arnold Schwarzenegger proud. Hopefully, Embark Studios will roll these out to the shooter’s other classes. On the performance front, there’s no mention of major specifics; the goal is for The Finals to continue to perform with fewer hiccups, whether you’re on Steam Deck, Steam Deck alternatives like the Lenovo Legion Go, or on console.
Like World Tour mode, progression is extended to every playlist in-game, thanks to Quick Play points. Exclusive rewards are tied to this progression system, alongside bronze to gold badges signifying your current standing. More points are earned from victories and aren’t lost when you are defeated, either.
Some changes are still dragging down The Finals, though. The decision to add a cooldown timer to abilities and gadgets upon being revived is still one of the worst, if not the worst, changes in the game. It leaves players of all classes defenseless while rival players stand there waiting to finish you off. I can only imagine how much worse this will get with the onslaught of M134 bullets. Respawn distance has improved with each numerous patches, but there are still a couple of instances where the game places you just a bit too far away from the action.
Where Embark could truly elevate the shooter’s reputation is with its future plans. 2025 marks The Finals’ enormous push to capitalize on its eSports prospects, given the hyper-energetic and sportsman-like nature of its game show concept. The first Major for The Finals arrives with Season 8, where Embark will introduce eSports directly into the game’s already expansive lore. Real-life competitors will grace the arena through billboards and advertisements, bringing them into the game world, while the action unfolds at in-person qualifiers, with a $100,000 prize to bag.
Embark says the “eSports journey will be designed to engage all players, even those who won’t compete, making it a cultural event for our players.” This includes better casting and spectator tools in-game for private matches and a Steamer Mode for better privacy. This could be a highly exciting moment for The Finals, bridging the gap between casual fun and the fan-fare of competitive play that genre greats like Call of Duty have been able to cultivate.
As it stands, Season 6 is all about enriching The Finals’ current experience. It may be lacking the grandeur of previous updates, but for a game already this strong, improving the game’s chances of success in a harsh live-service landscape is something I wish to see pay off tenfold.
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