In The Finals, teams of players must compete against each other as they participate in a fictional VR combat game show.
The Finals revolves around players competing in the titular fictional VR combat game show set in the year 2100.[6][7] This is reflected in the holographic crowds which are seen during gameplay, as well as the commentary provided by the game in the form of The Finals' two hosts making observations about the status of a given team or the game itself. Developer Embark Studios has stated that the game is partly inspired by The Hunger Games and Gladiator (2000).[8]
Most game modes feature 2, 3, or 4 teams, each competing against each other in a free-for-all competition. The players choose between the Light, Medium, or Heavy class, with their character model changing to reflect that.[3][6][9] Each build has access to a unique arsenal of specializations, weapons, and gadgets. They also each have a different movement speed, health bar and size. Light contestants are smallest, with fast speed and high burst damage, but the lowest health in the game. Medium builds are a traditional soldier class, with median speed, size, and health. Heavy builds are the largest, with the most survivability and health but the slowest movement speed.[10]
Each class has unique gadgets and specializations in addition to some universally available gadgets, allowing players to build a loadout that suits their playstyle. The Light build is given specializations related to stealth and movement: the Cloaking Device, Evasive Dash, or the Grappling Hook. The gadgets unique to the Light build also help them evade and flank enemies, including Gateways, Vanishing Bombs and Sonar Grenades, making them glass-cannon style ambushers. The Medium build features many deployables and utility-providing equipment, including the Healing Beam, the Defibrillator (to revive teammates hands-free), and the Guardian Turret. The Heavy build is given powerful destructive tools, such as the Sledgehammer, RPG-7, and C4, as well as protective measures like Barricades, a wide Mesh Shield, and a spherical Dome Shield.
The game mechanics encourage emergent gameplay by the way of the many free variables present.[6] These include highly player-modifiable terrain (both destruction and limited construction), varied weather conditions and time of day (which change between matches), and additional features such as moving platforms or structures suspended in the air.[3][6][9] The arenas contain many items that can be picked up and thrown by the player, including but not limited to plant pots, chairs, and tables. Different types of canisters and barrels can also be found both placed around the arena, and suspended in hanging boxes. These canisters can explode to damage the environment, or create various game elements such as fires, gas clouds, glitch explosions that interrupt player gadgets, etc.[6] Entire buildings can be toppled if the correct supports are targeted, and large enough debris can destroy other buildings.[3] The game also allows for limited construction, though this takes the form of deployable cover (such as Barricades), as well as through the use of the Goo Gun, Goo Grenade and Goo Barrels, which create solid, destructible barriers that resemble foam insulation. Additionally, several game elements have interactions with each other, such as smoke extinguishing fires, fire dissipating toxic gas clouds and burning down goo, and smoke hiding toxic gas clouds.
Players who are killed are turned into team-colored statues that their teammates can carry and interact with to revive them.[3] It takes five seconds of continuous interaction to revive a player, but Medium players may use a defibrillator on a statue to revive a teammate hands-free, which takes three seconds, Teammates revived by a defibrillator respawn with 50% of their maximum health, however much ammunition was in their gun at the time of death, and incur a short delay on their specializations and gadgets. If enough time elapses, a player may choose to respawn themselves at full health. In quick-play games, players can respawn an unlimited number of times, while in Tournament game modes, players have a limited amount of Respawn Tokens, gaining one extra token per round. If an entire team is eliminated before a member can respawn (known as a team wipe), all members will respawn together at the same time, and at no cost of Respawn Tokens. Players who die with no more respawn tokens are forced to wait until a teammate revives them, or until their all other teammates die.
Game modes
Cashout (World Tour/Ranked Tournament)
In Cashout (World Tour/Ranked Tournament), four teams each with three players compete against one another to earn as much money as possible. The primary source of money are "cash boxes", which must be unlocked from a vault and transported to a "cashout station." After bringing a cash box to a station, the team that deposited it instantly earns 20% of its value, then must hold control of the station until the cashout timer expires to earn the remaining 80%. Other teams can "steal" a cashout in progress with 7 seconds of continuous interaction, claiming ownership of the station and its remaining potential payout. Two cash boxes or cashouts will always be in play at a given time, and a new vault spawns every time a team completes a cashout. Each vault that appears on the map is more valuable than the last, ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $22,000, enabling teams at the bottom of the scoreboard to overtake first place if they claim enough money at the very end of a round. Multiple vaults can be brought to a single cashout station, combining their payouts under one timer.[6] Additional bonus money can be earned by killing enemy players, starting vaults, and stealing cashouts. Players have limited respawn credits, and teams lose 15% of their total money if all team members die at the same time in World Tour/Ranked.
Aspects of Cashout take inspiration from traditional capture the flag and king of the hill game types, requiring teams to have control of an area or object to complete the desired objective.[3][6][9]
Rounds last 9 minutes, with the possibility of an additional 1-minute "overtime" if a vault is deposited into an empty cashout station within the last 60 seconds of the round. Players are not able to change their contestant once the round starts, but they can swap items from their reserve loadout after death. Players keep their original loadouts when revived by their teammates, so swapping items from reserve may require that players use their respawn tokens unless the entire team is eliminated.
This variation of Cashout is played in a tournament-style bracket with 8 teams: In the first round, two groups of four teams compete, with the top two teams from each group moving to the second round. The top two teams in the second round then fight in a final round to declare the tournament winners. In the final round, the rules are modified: The first team to score two cashouts wins, and kills and objectives do not give extra money.
Quick Cash (Quick-play)
In this quick-play variation of the Cashout game mode,[3] three teams of three compete against one another to earn money. The ultimate winner of the round is the first team to complete two cashouts (the cash goal is $20,000, and each cashout is worth $10,000). Kills, assists, deaths and objectives are tracked and shown to the players at the end of the game, but do not count towards the teams' overall score.
Bank It (Removed Indefinitely)
A second game mode, Bank It, focuses more on player vs. player combat and individual play. Scattered around the map are various caches filled with coins, which four teams of three compete to collect, 3v3v3v3. Currency is held by players on their person but is dropped upon their death. Additionally, any time a player is eliminated, they drop additional currency, even if they were not holding any otherwise. This currency can be turned in at temporary deposits that appear on the map periodically, forcing teams to occasionally congregate in the same place to "bank" their money. The first team to bank $40,000 in currency wins.[11]
Solo Bank It (Temporary Gamemode)
Bank It also had a temporary "solo" gamemode, where twelve players compete individually in a free-for-all format, rather than in teams.[12][13]
Power Shift
Added in Season 2, Power Shift is a 5v5 "King of the Hill" mode where teams fight for control of a floating platform that continuously moves throughout the map, with both teams trying to push the platform in opposite directions. The platform follow a set path around the arena, and will destroy any terrain in its way.The game will end when one team moves the platform towards their designated goal. If time runs out while the losing team has control, overtime is incurred where the leading team must gain control of the platform before the losing team can gain the lead. Like other quick-play game modes, Power Shift allows players to change not only their loadout but also their contestants throughout the match, and have full access to all weapons, specializations and gadgets. Loadout changes will take effect whenever a contestant respawns, but not when they are revived.[14][15]
Terminal Attack
Terminal Attack was initially a limited-time event game mode, launched on May 2, 2024. This game mode was set to end on May 22, 2024. In Terminal Attack, ten players are divided into two groups of five – Attackers and Defenders. Attackers have limited time to breach insert a Decryption Key into one of two Terminals available in the arena. Meanwhile, Defenders must strategize and coordinate their defense to prevent the Attackers from achieving their objective. The teams switch sides after three rounds in a best-of-7 format. In this game mode, players cannot respawn or heal themselves, and Medium characters are unable to use their Healing Beam or Defibrillator, meaning each contestant has one life only per round, only able to regenerate a small portion of their health while out of combat. Additionally, items such as grenades or traps have limited charges and are only renewed at the start of each round. The damage dealt to the arena is persistent throughout the entire match. Terminal Attack is similar to the default modes in Valorant and Counter-Strike.[16]
On May 22, 2024, Embark announced that Terminal Attack will become a permanent game mode due to greater than expected popularity.[17] On June 7, 2024, it was announced that in Season 3 of The Finals, Terminal Attack would replace Cashout Tournament as the main ranked mode. According to Embark, this was to give the developers time to balance Cashout without affecting the leaderboards. As of September 26, 2024, partially due to heated backlash from the fanbase, Cashout Tournament was reinstated as the main ranked gamemode, with Terminal Attack being relegated to a quick-play gamemode.
World Tour
Debuted on June 13, 2024, with Season 3, World Tour consists of weekly rotating Cashout Tournaments with occasionally changing variations of the standard ranked rules. Cash earned by players is used to organize them onto a leaderboard, while Win Points given based on tournament placement are used to progress a special World Tour badge and gain additional rewards at the end of the season.[18] Unlike ranked mode, players cannot lose win points or cash. While World Tour features the same format as Ranked Tournaments, featuring 4 teams of 3 in each round, the rules are slightly more relaxed, allowing for temporary in-game events like Mega Damage and Low Gravity, allowing players can swap items from their reserve loadout between respawns.
Ranked Tournaments
Ranked Tournaments feature a modified version of the Cashout game mode, occurring in consecutive rounds with a bracket of 8 teams (24 players).[19] In the first two rounds, four teams compete in each game, with the top two teams advancing. In the final round, the top two teams face off head-to-head in Quick Cash rules to determine a winner. There are a total of three rounds in Ranked Tournaments, and players are only able to swap items from their reserve between rounds.[20] As players participate in tournaments, they increase their ranking through various leagues, ranging from Bronze to Diamond. Players earn or lose any amount of rank points depending on the combined skill of the enemy teams and the expected outcome of the match. Originally, The Finals featured both Ranked and Unranked Tournaments, but the Unranked variation was removed in Season 2.[21] In Season 3, the Cashout ranked tournament was temporarily replaced with World Tour to allow the developers to experiment with balancing changes, before it would be reintroduced alongside a refreshed World Tour in the next season.
Team Deathmatch
Team Deathmatch debuted towards the end of Season 5, being a temporary gamemode brought into the game by the in-universe hacker group known as "CNS." Two teams of 5 fight in a best-of-3 format. In each round, teams must earn $3,000 (30 eliminations, $100 per elimination) to win the round, and be the first team to win 2 rounds. The gamemode returned at the beginning of Season 6 as a permanent quick play gamemode to huge positive reception by fans, mimicking the previous love of the mode during its temporary addition. Some players criticise the mode for not being directly objective but rather elimination based, yet most find the gamemode positive for the game.
VRs
At the end of matches, players earn in-game currency known as VRs, by playing matches. These can be spent on new gear, specializations, and gadgets, with most items costing 500 VRs to purchase, and recently released items costing 2200 VRs to purchase.
Event game modes
Steal The Spotlight
Steal The Spotlight was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Solo Bank It. This event lasted from January 31 until February 14, 2024. In Steal The Spotlight contestants played as the Heavy with a pre-set loadout consisting of the Lewis Gun and SA1216 as primary weapons, a variety of gadgets, and Charge 'n Slam as their Specialization. There was also a unique set of cosmetics for this game mode which all players had equipped while in the match. By completing certain contracts within Steal The Spotlight, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Solo Bank It, except that the map was always Las Vegas and there were special turrets and laser sensors near all cashout stations that added a new aspect of stealthiness to the match.
Smoking Guns
Smoking Guns was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Cashout. This event originally lasted from February 29 to March 3, 2024, but was extended to March 14. In Smoking Guns, contestants choose a premade loadout for the three builds in the game that restricts you to Western-style equipment. Each Build was able to use the frag grenades, pyro grenades, and gas grenades. Light was limited to the Grappling Hook as the Specialization, The Sword, SH1900 (Sawed-Off Shotgun), and The SR-84 (Sniper Rifle) for the weapons, and Smoke Grenade and Glitch Grenade for the build-specific gadgets. Medium was restricted to the Healing Beam as the Specialization, R.357 and Model 1887 for the weapons, and the Zipline, Explosive Mines, and Goo Grenades for the build-specific gadgets. Heavy was restricted to Charge 'n Slam for the Specialization, The Lewis Gun and The Sledgehammer for the weapons, and Pyro Mine and Barricades for build-specific gadgets. There was also a specific set of cosmetics for this game mode which all players had equipped during the match. By completing certain contracts within Smoking Guns, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game mode. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Cashout, except that the map was always Monaco and there were Western-style objects and decorations all around the map.
Bunny Bash
Bunny Bash was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Power Shift. This event lasted from March 27 to April 10, 2024. In Bunny Bash, contestants choose a premade loadout for the three builds in the game. These loadouts promoted the new weapons introduced to the game at the start of Season 2, including the Famas and the KS-23. Similar to the Smoking Guns event, each Build was able to use the frag grenades, pyro grenades, and gas grenades. Light was limited to the Grappling Hook as the Specialization, and The Sword and The SR-84 (Sniper Rifle) for the weapons. Medium was restricted to the Healing Beam as the Specialization and the Famas and Model 1887 for the weapons. Heavy was restricted to Charge 'n Slam for the Specialization, and the KS-23 and The Sledgehammer for the weapons. Similar to Smoking Guns, there was also a specific set of cosmetics for this game mode in the form of Easter-themed bunny suits, which all players had equipped during the match. By completing certain contracts within Bunny Bash, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game mode in addition to Easter-themed weapon skins. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Power Shift, except that the map was always SYS$HORIZON and there were Easter-style objects and decorations across the map.
Heavy Hitters
Heavy Hitters was a limited-time event game mode that lasted from May 22 to June 12, 2025, which included a new map designed to be the interior of an "OSPUZE Tiger Juice" can, created by one of the gameshow's sponsors. All contestants get a premade loadout on the Heavy class with the Charge n' Slam, and a modified Sledgehammer that swings up for its alternate attack. The goal was to knock other player's off the map with updated interactions that caused the Sledgehammer to deal significant knockback. The lower the health of a player, the farther they would travel when hit, much like the game Super Smash Bros, and the goal was to earn $3000 (30 total eliminations).
Head-2-Head
Head-2-Head is a limited-time event game mode added on August 14 2025, and is set to last until September 10 2025. The gamemode follows Cashout rules, specifically the final round of a World Tour/Ranked Tournament: Two teams of 3 fight to earn two cashouts. However, modifications include unlimited Respawn Tokens and access to a special game show event where a kaiju-style monster throws debris around the arena, destroying terrain over time.
Development
The Finals, along with Arc Raiders are the first two titles from Stockholm-based Embark Studios.[22] A producer noted that destructibility changed the way the player approached the game, saying "we're constantly surprised by the new and inventive ways players utilize the freedom the game grants. Why open a door when you can use a rocket launcher to blow a hole in the wall, right?".
The title was announced in August 2022 for PC,[23] with console ports later unveiled for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.[24] Closed betas were run in early 2023, with the first closed beta lasting from March 7–21, 2023,[25][26] and the second closed beta occurring between June 14–21.[27] An open beta took place between October 26 until November 5.[28][29]
The Finals was released on PC, Xbox Series X&S, and PlayStation 5 on December 7, 2023, during The Game Awards 2023.[30]The Finals features full support for crossplay, allowing players on different platforms to play together.[31] On release, underperforming servers caused the developers to put a temporary cap on player counts.[32] The game was also later ported to the PlayStation 4 on December 12th, 2024, however it wasn't ported to the Xbox One due to hardware limitations.[33][34]
According to IGN, poor performance and low frame rates posed an issue during the game's early closed betas.[8]The Finals has also been criticized for the use of the A.I.text-to-speech program created by ElevenLabs[37] to artificially generate the voices of characters, rather than utilizing traditional voice actors.[38][39] Embark Studios responded to the criticism, telling Axios the generated voicework in The Finals is "based on a mix of professional voice actors and temp voices from Embark employees."[40]
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