ARC Raiders Developers Delayed the Game for Three Years Because it Was Not Fun

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The PvPvE extraction shooter ARC Raiders is launching on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on October 30. Developer Embark Studios has shared that the game faced multiple internal delays during its creation. In an interview with Edge Magazine (as reported by PCGamesN), studio CEO Patrick Soderlund explained that they aimed to create a game they themselves would enjoy playing.

However, issues surfaced when Soderlund realized that initial versions of ARC Raiders weren’t as enjoyable to play as the original 2022 announcement trailer suggested. As a result, the team decided to postpone the game to allow for more development. “We were passionate about everything we were creating,” Soderlund explained. “But after careful consideration, we realized: ‘This game just isn’t fun.’” This delay led to a change in direction – the game was shifted from being purely a player-versus-environment (PvE) experience to a player-versus-player-versus-environment (PvPvE) one.

Producer Aleksandr Grondal joined the development team about six months before the game was finished. He admitted, “It took me a while to figure out the overall goal.” When reviewing early versions of ARC Raiders, Grondal noted, “There are some enjoyable parts, but it wasn’t consistently working well as a whole.”

It’s interesting to note that Embark Studios initially wasn’t keen on creating another player-versus-player (PvP) game. This was especially true given the success they’d already achieved with their competitive shooter, The Finals. The team explained they were feeling “tired of PvP” after developing The Finals and having previously worked on several other PvP games during their time at EA and DICE.

ARC Raiders was initially intended to be a free-to-play title. However, in August 2024, the developers decided to change plans and release it as a premium game costing $39.99. They also announced a playtest for the PC version of ARC Raiders, scheduled to run from October 24th to October 27th – just before the game launches.

The studio explained that this decision stems from their belief that a premium business model is more suitable for the game they are developing. They stated, “A premium model allows us to create a more focused, balanced, and engaging action-survival experience.”

For players eager to jump in, ARC Raiders is holding a server slam event from October 17th to 19th. During this event, players will be invited to play the game and really push the servers to their limits. The goal is to ensure the ARC Raiders servers run smoothly when the game officially launches later this month.

In addition, pre-orders for ARC Raiders began last month. Besides the standard edition, which costs $39.99, there’s also a Deluxe Edition available for $59.99. This more expensive version comes with several in-game items, such as emotes, a backpack attachment, a new backpack, and various cosmetic items.

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2025-10-03 19:11