Arc Raiders: How a ‘Not Fun’ Shooter Became a Steam Sensation

Arc Raiders is in a rare position. It is an upcoming extraction shooter built by a team of ex-Battlefield developers at Embark Studios, it has endured a multi-year delay, and it was once bluntly judged by its own creators as simply “not fun.” Despite that rocky past, it has climbed the wishlist charts on Steam, signaling intense curiosity from players hungry for a fresh spin on co-op, PvPvE, and loot-driven gameplay.

This article digs into the unusual development journey of Arc Raiders, why the team hit the brakes for years, how the game transformed from a cooperative PvE concept into a full-blown extraction shooter, and what its wishlist success might say about the current FPS landscape.

From Reveal Darling to Design Dead End

When Arc Raiders was first unveiled, it turned heads with its retro-futurist aesthetic, towering mechanical enemies, and emphasis on cooperative combat. The early pitch focused on players teaming up to battle robotic invaders in a stylish sci-fi setting. It looked like a traditional PvE co-op experience with big set-piece encounters and a strong visual identity.

Behind the scenes, however, Embark Studios struggled to make that initial vision genuinely enjoyable. In later interviews, studio leadership described a sobering realization: despite promising visuals and a clear thematic direction, the moment-to-moment experience wasn’t clicking. Shooting felt fine, enemies looked cool, but the overall loop didn’t create the tension, stakes, or replayability they wanted.

Rather than push ahead and ship something they didn’t believe in, Embark made an atypical decision for a high-profile project: pause, rethink, and be brutally honest about the game’s shortcomings.

Why “This Game Is Not Fun” Matters

Game studios quietly cancel or reboot projects all the time, but openly stating that a heavily marketed title “was not fun” is unusual. That admission signals three important things:

• Internal honesty over sunk costs: After years of work, teams can feel pressure to ship no matter what. Admitting failure and pivoting requires acknowledging sunk cost and starting over in key areas.
• Player-first thinking: Ultimately, gameplay quality determines long-term success more than marketing hype. Recognizing that a loop isn’t compelling is crucial before launch, not after.
• Willingness to change genres: Embark didn’t just tweak numbers; it rethought Arc Raiders at the structural level, pushing it toward a very different kind of game.

That sort of brutally honest internal feedback is a core element of effective game development. In many studios, projects go through internal milestones and playtests where concepts are evaluated and sometimes rebooted when they don’t meet expectations.¹

The Pivot: From Co-op PvE to Extraction Shooter

After acknowledging the project’s weaknesses, Embark chose a radical new direction: Arc Raiders would be rebuilt around an extraction shooter framework. Instead of purely scripted co-op missions against AI, the game would become a PvPvE experience where players drop into dangerous zones, fight enemies (and potentially each other), collect valuable loot, and attempt to escape with their rewards.

What Is an Extraction Shooter?

An extraction shooter is a subgenre of shooter where the main objective is not simply to get kills or complete an objective, but to successfully extract from the map with gear or resources. Matches are high stakes because:

• Players typically bring in weapons and equipment they’ve earned.
• Death during a run often means losing some or all of that gear.
• Maps mix AI opponents with other players, creating unpredictable encounters.
• The central goal is leaving alive, not just racking up kills.

Games like Escape from Tarkov helped popularize this formula, with others such as Call of Duty: Warzone DMZ and Dark and Darker offering their own takes. Even major publishers acknowledge the growing appeal of high-tension, session-based shooters.²

Why Arc Raiders Needed Higher Stakes

According to Embark’s comments, the original PvE Arc Raiders lacked a certain spark—tension, uncertainty, and a reason for players to care deeply about each moment. A pure co-op horde mode can be fun, but it often struggles with repetition unless it has extremely tight pacing and progression. The extraction shooter model offered several advantages:

• Permanent stakes: Risking gear increases emotional investment in every decision.
• Organic stories: Unexpected encounters with other squads or AI create unscripted, memorable moments.
• Replayability: Randomized loot, varying entry and exit strategies, and dynamic opposition make runs feel fresh.
• Progression hooks: Successful extractions feed into long-term progression, crafting, and loadout optimization.

By layering these elements onto Arc Raiders’ distinctive world and enemy designs, Embark hoped to transform the game from a visually striking but flat experience into one with depth and longevity.

Ex-Battlefield Talent and Design Philosophy

Arc Raiders is being developed by Embark Studios, a team formed by veterans who worked on the Battlefield series at DICE. That heritage brings both expectations and useful expertise: large-scale combat, emergent sandbox moments, and tight shooting mechanics are all hallmarks of Battlefield’s best entries.

However, extraction shooters differ from traditional large-scale warfare. Instead of 64-player battles and vehicle-heavy chaos, they demand:

• Smaller, more intimate encounters.
• Carefully tuned time-to-kill and audio design for tension.
• High clarity in inventory and loot systems.
• Robust anti-cheat and networking to handle high-value progression.

The challenge for Embark is to blend the studio’s large-scale shooter experience with the methodical, high-risk style of extraction play. If successful, Arc Raiders could stand out by combining Battlefield-esque spectacle and polish with the deliberate pacing typical of the genre.

Wishlist Momentum: Arc Raiders on Steam

Despite its delayed release and an extended period of relative silence, Arc Raiders has become one of the most wishlisted upcoming games on Steam. Public tracking tools such as SteamDB show that wishlist rankings are dominated by a mix of sequels, survival games, and shooters, with Arc Raiders sitting high in that list.³

Why Wishlists Matter

Steam wishlists are not a guarantee of success, but they serve as a strong indicator of player interest. Valve has explained that wishlists can significantly influence visibility on the store, especially around launch windows and during major sales.⁴ For developers, high wishlist numbers mean:

• A larger pool of players who will be notified at launch or when discounts go live.
• Better positioning in Steam’s recommendation algorithms.
• Valuable leverage when negotiating partnerships or marketing beats.

For Arc Raiders, ranking alongside or just behind massive franchises in wishlist charts suggests that the game’s new direction has caught the community’s attention, even if players haven’t yet experienced the full extraction loop.

Factors Driving Arc Raiders’ Hype

Several elements appear to be propelling Arc Raiders up the charts:

• Genre heat: Extraction shooters have become a trendy space as players look for alternatives to traditional battle royale formats.
• Visual identity: The game’s gritty retro-future aesthetic—with its towering mechs and dusty landscapes—helps it stand apart from more grounded military shooters.
• Pedigree: Players familiar with Battlefield’s legacy are curious about what ex-DICE developers can do unshackled from an established franchise.
• Candid narrative: The story of the game being delayed because it “wasn’t fun” is unusual and oddly reassuring to some players, who see it as a sign of quality control.

Key Features Shaping the New Arc Raiders

While the full game is still in development, publicly available information and previews outline several pillars that define the current version of Arc Raiders.

PvPvE Combat and Dynamic Encounters

Sessions are built around venturing into hostile zones where AI enemies and other human squads are active at the same time. This hybrid design can lead to:

• Three-way fights between multiple squads and AI enemies.
• Opportunities to third-party an ongoing firefight and steal loot from another team.
• Choices between stealthy avoidance or aggressive engagement depending on your gear and goals.

The AI enemies, including large mechanical foes, reinforce the sense that you’re operating in a war-torn world rather than a sterile arena.

High-Risk Loot and Extraction

Like other extraction shooters, Arc Raiders is built on a loop of:

1. Preparing your loadout with weapons, armor, and consumables.
2. Deploying into the field to search for loot, resources, or mission objectives.
3. Managing risk by deciding how long to stay and how much to carry.
4. Extracting successfully to keep your gains.

Higher-value loot should increase your power for future runs but also make you a tempting target for other players. This push-pull between greed and survival is a key driver of tension in the genre.

Persistent Progression and Economy

Details are evolving, but the current design emphasizes a persistent economy that sits above the individual matches. Expect systems such as:

• Upgradable gear, weapons, and crafting.
• Vendors or hubs where you trade loot for currency or blueprints.
• Account-level progression that unlocks new equipment and opportunities.

Balancing this meta-game layer is critical. If progression feels too grindy or if the economy becomes inflated, the sense of risk can erode. Conversely, well-tuned rewards provide long-term motivation beyond a single match.

Co-op Focus with Competitive Edges

Although the pivot added PvP elements, Arc Raiders still prioritizes cooperation within your squad. Team composition, communication, and shared decision-making around extraction become essential. The tension emerges not only from enemies but from the possibility that another group of players is stalking the same area.

Table: Original Vision vs. Current Direction

Pricing, Expectations, and Market Pressure

While final regional pricing and monetization details can shift before release, the discussion around Arc Raiders’ cost has already started. Many extraction shooters, especially those in early access, have historically adopted premium pricing, though free-to-play experiments exist. Player expectations are influenced by:

• The presence of established competitors.
• How content-rich the game is at launch.
• Whether monetization leans on expansions, cosmetics, or battle passes.

AAA and AA publishers increasingly experiment with live-service elements and ongoing updates.⁵ For Arc Raiders, long-term viability will likely depend on a balance between upfront value and sustainable post-launch support.

Lessons from Arc Raiders’ Development Journey

Beyond the specifics of this game, Arc Raiders offers a useful case study in modern game development:

• Being honest about fun is crucial: No amount of marketing can save a game that doesn’t feel good to play. Recognizing that early is painful but necessary.
• Genre trends can be harnessed, not blindly followed: Embark didn’t simply chase extraction mechanics; it used them to solve a design problem—lack of tension and stakes.
• Wishlist momentum is real but fragile: High wishlist counts show interest, but meeting expectations at launch is critical to converting that curiosity into a lasting community.
• Transparency can build goodwill: Candidly admitting missteps resonates with players tired of overpromised, underdelivered releases.

If Arc Raiders launches with a polished core loop and robust content, its unusual development story may end up being an asset instead of a warning sign.

FAQs About Arc Raiders