Following internal playtests, the development team behind Arc Raiders decided to re-evaluate their approach to positioning the game in the market.
Kaj Braga, the game’s creator, shared at a recent conference how Embark Studios explored what exactly brought players enjoyment from PvP battles during the testing process.
Embark Studios surveyed playtesters, asking which other games they typically play. This data was then correlated with their satisfaction ratings for PvP elements in Arc Raiders.
As expected, fans of titles such as Delta Force, PUBG, Escape from Tarkov, Rust, and Hunt: Showdown highly praised the PvP gameplay.
However, the real surprise came from the high PvP ratings given by The Last of Us enthusiasts. Within this group, which also included players of Destiny, Elden Ring, The Division, and Helldivers 2 (who generally prefer cooperative or adventure games), TLoU fans stood out with their particular interest.
In an interview, Kaj Braga expressed his astonishment at the survey results:
“These players simply didn’t want constant PvP. They liked the idea of periodic engagement in such encounters, and it was precisely these players who seemed much more interesting to us. My UX and data analysis specialist pointed out that our game looks so appealing that it can attract this audience too. We just needed to find a suitable and enjoyable format for them.”
This observation significantly influenced Arc Raiders’ marketing strategy. Developers now prefer to describe their game as an “extraction-adventure” rather than merely an “extraction-shooter.”
“While shooting is certainly present in the game, we aim for every type of player to find something engaging and fun,” Braga emphasized.