Embark Studios is actively updating THE FINALS with Season 11: Galaxy Masters, which launched on July 9, 2026, and continues to run the APAC League esports competition. The studio has also shared machine learning lessons from its games at a conference.
Embark Studios launched Season 11: Galaxy Masters for THE FINALS on July 9, 2026. The space-themed update added the Galaxy Estate arena with speed tunnels and anti-gravity zones, overhauled melee combat with defense, stamina, and precision strike systems, and introduced a Bot mode for Cashout. A space-themed battle pass and convenience improvements like an improved respawn system and expanded pins were also included.
The studio's esports program continued with the APAC League Cycle 2 finals of The Grand Major Online Series. Korean team HIBOO won the cycle on June 28, 2026, earning $2,000 and 100 points toward qualification for the TGM Grand Final 2026 in Stockholm. HIBOO came from behind to defeat Chinese team KZ in the final match.
At NDC26, Embark Studios machine learning lead Martin detailed how the studio uses ML for recommendations, quest generation, and enemy behavior. A key takeaway was that a simple EASE recommendation model increased purchasers by 400% in The Finals, but organizational hurdles nearly killed the project until an engineer physically moved desks to the commercial team. The talk covered lessons from both The Finals and Arc Raiders.
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Embark Studios launched Season 11: Galaxy Masters for THE FINALS on July 9, 2026. The space-themed update adds the Galaxy Estate arena with speed tunnels and anti-gravity zones, overhauls melee combat with defense, stamina, and precision strike systems, and introduces a Bot mode for Cashout. A space-themed battle pass and convenience improvements like an improved respawn system and expanded pins are also included.
Korean team HIBOO won the APAC League Cycle 2 finals of THE FINALS esports tournament The Grand Major Online Series on June 28, 2026. HIBOO came from behind to defeat Chinese team KZ in the final match. The win earns HIBOO $2,000 and 100 points toward qualification for the TGM Grand Final 2026 in Stockholm.
At NDC26, Embark Studios machine learning lead Martin detailed how the studio uses ML for recommendations, quest generation, and enemy behavior. A key takeaway was that a simple EASE recommendation model increased purchasers by 400% in The Finals, but organizational hurdles nearly killed the project until an engineer physically moved desks to the commercial team.