Extraction shooters aren't for the faint of heart. Escape From Tarkov doesn't hold your hand, Arena Breakout couldn't care less either. ARC Raiders is different. Embark Studios' addition to the tough-as-nails genre navigates the line between intensity and reward, while ensuring its learning curves aren't harsh enough to put you off the Rust Belt forever. With over 30 hours in-game between Tech Test 2 and the Server Slam, I pick the brain of Virgil Watkins, the game's design director, to find out how Embark Studios is making extraction action welcoming.
The ARC Raiders release date is imminent. It's hours away right now. Hot off the ARC Raiders Server Slam and previous playtests, the hype for ARC Raiders is beyond Embark Studios' expectations. In a world where triple-A giant Bungie is trying to carve out a corner of the genre with Marathon, it's evident that players are more than warmed up to the game's charms. The ARC Raiders Steam player count is even capable of dethroning Call of Duty.
"Like I've said before, like, we did not anticipate the reaction to Tech Test 2 at all […] we were confident in the game and stuff. But I think it managed to just kind of crack through a ceiling a little bit and get just enough attention that it really went wide, and then it's been really encouraging," Watkins excitedly expresses to me. For Embark, the Tech Test marks a landmark moment for ARC Raiders.
It's the first time the studio has let members of the public join in the fun, after months of playtests behind closed doors. My ARC Raiders preview chronicles some time spent in an event before the Tech Test, and even then, it's clear that there's something special about journeying throughout the Rust Belt.
In the wake of seeing player reactions, Watkins adds that "we really critically looked at the feedback in the data that we had […] I think we were able to make really incredible decisions, or very accurate decisions, about what to do from Tech Test 2 to launch. So I hope we'll see those pan out." Between both pre-launch versions of the game, two aspects still ring true: respecting your time and making sure losses aren't soul-destroying. Losing in ARC Raiders is similar to defeat in The Finals, which I believe is easily the best FPS game out there right now. Sure, there's a level of skill to it, but I don't feel cheated.
I'm succumbing to my own failures, but in ARC Raiders, it doesn't feel cheap. Saying goodbye to loot is a gut-punch, but there's a spark to continue, an instinct to keep going. It helps that it's just outright hilarious, as taking a sucker punch to the face is both goofy and damning in the same moment. Watkins talks to me about the player psychology behind this. "It used to be the case that when you got fully downed, the camera would just sort of linger and look at your body. That kind of got demoralizing. You're just watching the other person loot you; they might taunt you or hit you with the hammer. And you're like 'oh man, whatever.'" Watkins explains.
But with a few tweaks during development, something simple yet effective is born out of this. Getting sent to the ground in ARC Raiders isn't a time to spectate. There's barely enough time to beg for your life. Instead, all it takes is a punch to reveal nothing but darkness and an in-universe quote reminding you that the Rust Belt is hardy merciless.
It reminds me of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2007), with death screens blurring out the warfare to relay a sense of impact. Embark nearly overlooked this entirely, Watkins reveals: "I think that [because] we almost did [it] by accident, that helped a lot […] we just made it cut to black, just sharp, and you're like 'that was like a moment' […] that seemed to have a bit of a switch, where people's psychology around that moment went from dwelling on their defeat to like 'oh, it was a punctuation."
When you do go down, though, your precious loot is as good as gone. But there's always another fight, and the inclusion of 'free loadouts' gives me the chance to fight back - even if my weapons are primitive. These loadouts randomly generate and often consist of low-level gear. It's enough to get started, whether you're just being brave or recovering from a previous match. It's one way that ARC Raiders remains open to newcomers of the genre, while offering a challenge to veterans.
Between The Finals, Battlefield 6, and other Steam Deck games consuming my time, keeping on top of live-service efforts can be tricky. I share my adoration for ARC Raiders in this respect, as I don't get the sense of feeling pressured to keep up. It's very much cut from the same cloth as Helldivers 2. Watkins notes Embark's approach on this, as he says that "I'm glad you feel that way, because from the outset, one of the core pillars of the game is to be approachable. It is about respecting the players' time."
As a lover of immersive shooters himself, Watkins adds that his experience with games like ARMA is key to getting a gut feeling on what players respond to. "I personally might, you know, play things like ARMA or [Escape From] Tarkov and enjoy that extreme end of the tension. But I don't think it has to be that extreme; you can still have those other fun elements of those types of games come through," Watkins shares.
You can see how it all comes together soon, as ARC Raiders launches on Thursday, October 30, 2025. As you prepare for what the Rust Belt holds, I dive into how little of you can defeat the ARC Raiders Queen - the toughest enemy of the bunch. If you need to find someone to squad up with, don't forget to hop over to the Pocket Tactics Discord server.