ARC Raiders’ Original Concept Was a Mix of Shadow of the Colossus, Left 4 Dead and PUBG

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The first episode of a new documentary series by Embark Studio and Noclip explores the making of ARC Raiders. In the video, creative director Stefan Strandberg discusses how the team combined various themes and concepts during development, and also shares insights into the tools they used and how different ideas were brought together.

We quickly decided to use the Unreal Engine for development, and we also had our own unique technology we were building alongside it,” explained Strandberg. The team explored many concepts, but they knew space travel had to be a central theme for ARC Raiders. In the end, they focused on a story about an ecological disaster, the growing power of artificial intelligence, and the conflict between humans and machines.

Strandberg explains that when they were first considering ideas, certain concepts really stood out. The idea of ‘being a small person in a large world with massive machines’ was particularly appealing on paper. They began exploring this concept, focusing on potential gameplay mechanics without yet knowing what the overall game would be like.

According to Strandberg, the original idea for ARC Raiders was a mix of elements from Shadow of the Colossus, Left 4 Dead, and PUBG – he described it as being like a combination of all three games.

During the same video, studio founder and CEO Patrick Soderlund discussed the game’s development, particularly in its early stages. A significant amount of effort went into providing developers with the necessary tools, while also building in flexibility to address any future errors or issues.

He explained that the first year was mostly spent developing the necessary tools. He also anticipated they wouldn’t get everything right away, and expected to make many mistakes. They deliberately prepared for these errors, building in a buffer to allow for them.

So, Strandberg was talking about how they came up with the basic idea for ARC Raiders. They really focused on making the core gameplay super fun first – like, spending a ton of time getting that right – before even thinking about adding extra stuff to the game. It was cool to hear they prioritized making sure the actual playing experience was solid from the start.

According to Strandberg, they were building the fundamental gameplay and experimenting with the game mode simultaneously. They hadn’t yet considered broader elements like the game’s economy or what would keep players engaged long-term. Their initial focus was simply on how it felt to play and fight against the machines.

Every game, no matter how complex, needs to be enjoyable at its core. Even something as simple as kicking a ball in FIFA has to feel good, or the whole game won’t be fun. We tested our large-scale game by focusing on the basic, moment-to-moment gameplay, just to see if it was fun and visually exciting. And we found that it had potential.

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2025-11-25 18:11