Summary
It’s safe to say thatMarathon’s recent reveal wasn’t received as well as Bungie had hoped; now, some fans are looking excitedly over the fence at rival shooterARC Raiders. Reviving a long-dormant IP, Bungie made the bold decision to relaunchMarathonas an extraction shooter, inviting criticism from some long-time fans. While not everyone has been turned off by the studio’s new vision, it seems to be losing steam with some others.
This wouldn’t be the first time a large developer missed the mark in this niche. Despite large player counts in a couple of titles, the extraction shooter genre is a notoriously difficult one to break into.Escape From TarkovandHunt: Showdownhave done very well for themselves, but many other contenders have flopped straight out of the gate.Marathon’s rocky reception would appear to be proving this rule, if not for the existence ofARC Raiders.
Arc Raiders Is Gaining Momentum Where Marathon Stumbled
Developed with the help of veteranBattlefieldtalent,ARC Raidersis an extraction shooterfrom Embark Studios. Despite the developer releasingThe Finalslate last year,ARC Raidershas actually been in development longer, butThe Finals’ smaller scope meant it was ready sooner. Development onARCprogressed quietly for several years, going from PVE looter with PVP elements to a full-on extraction game, and the recent playtests have suddenly drawn significant attention toARCfor some pretty positive reasons.
Part of the frustration seems to stem from the fact thatMarathonis an old IP that has been repurposed into something new, which is a problem thatARCdoesn’t have. Though the design may have shifted from its original goals, people playing the recentARC Raidersplaytestwere jumping into its world for the first time, with few expectations. It also helps thatARCis sticking closer to a more traditional style of extraction shooter, including a home base and proximity chat, a feature that Bungie has dragged its feet over for fears of toxicity.
Bungie has announced some changes for its next alpha, including disabling aim assist on PC, so plenty of features could change between now and then.
Embark’s background is somewhat similar to Bungie’s, as each developer has experience developing very popular shooters, and both are now making extraction games at the same time. Perhaps it is down to how each studio walks the line, as many fans have stated they would like to seeMarathonget revived, just not in this form. Bungie has likely spent a lot of money developing and marketing its new game so far, releasing the incredibly well-receivedMarathoncinematic short film, meaning walking back the game design is essentially impossible. Conversely, awareness ofARC Raidershas been driven a lot by word of mouth, proving there is still excitement for new extraction shooters.
It’s still early days yet, butARC Raiderscould not be coming out at a worse time for Bungie, as it’s hard not to draw comparisons between the two. Bungie has already scoped out dates for futureMarathonplaytests, and player feedback from the first round has suggested it felt very “alpha,” so there is every chance the next test will look very different. Stumbling at the first hurdle has characterized Bungie for a long time, with bothDestiny 1and2having very shaky launches, only to become big successes later. But the glowingreception toARC Raidersis casting a very long shadow, one that won’t be easy forMarathonto escape.
