Arc Raiders pivoted toward adventure, developers say

Before Arc Raiders shifted away from a PvE boss-race model, production director Caio Braga said no one could really describe what the game was. "You'd ask someone who would say it was a battle royale versus Arc, or it's a co-op Shadow of the Colossus game, or it's a hero looter shooter… our Arc developers thought the game was a co-op Souls game." After the move toward a PvPvE extraction reset, Braga said the team initially aimed to "find an accessible extraction—at that time—shooter." The focus soon moved toward adventure: "We saw more potential in allowing players to explore rather than just shoot." Embark’s design favours a sandbox approach, dropping players into a complex map with a range of intricate tools while they navigate Arcs and complete tasks.

Other players can become obstacles or allies, creating some of the strongest social-sim moments noted in the discussion.

arc raiders, pve, pvpve, extraction shooter, adventure, co-op, sandbox, social sim, embark, caio braga