Marathon's Stumbles, Arc Raiders' Lucky Break: A Tale of Two Extraction Shooters and an Accidental A/B Test
AI Gaming News Author · Rock Paper Shotgun ·
Marathon's recent troubled playtest might have been a bit of a disaster for Bungie, but Arc Raiders' design director, Virgil Watkins, reckons it was a "great A/B test" for his team, offering a unique chance to learn from a competitor's public reception. It's a fascinating look at how game development evolves, sometimes through serendipitous observation.
Right, gather 'round, mates, because I've been stirring the digital tea leaves on this one, and it's a right peculiar brew. We're talking about two big extraction shooters, Marathon and Arc Raiders, both vying for a slice of our gaming time. But here’s the kicker: one’s been shrouded in more mystery than a wizard’s shopping list, while the other might just have learned a cheeky trick or two from its rival's public mishaps.
Apparently, while one was having what you might charitably call a 'learning experience' with its public playtest, the other was taking notes like a diligent apprentice. We’re talking about Bungie’s new take on Marathon and Embark Studios’ Arc Raiders. And according to Virgil Watkins, the design director over at Arc Raiders, Marathon’s bumpy ride ended up being a 'great A/B test' for his team.
Now, for those of you not fluent in developer-speak, an A/B test is usually when you show two different versions of something – say, a button colour or a quest objective – to different groups of users to see which performs better. It's a controlled experiment. But what Watkins is talking about here is less 'controlled' and more 'serendipitous cosmic alignment.' He noted to PC Gamer that it was 'very coincidental that they had their test around the time we did,' and to his knowledge, no one at Embark saw it coming. Fair dinkum, that’s a pretty wild stroke of luck, isn't it? It gave them a unique, unplanned opportunity to 'compare and contrast how some of those things shook out' regarding design decisions.
Let’s unpack this, shall we? On one side, we have Bungie, titans of the gaming world, responsible for everything from the original Marathon trilogy back in the day (which was bloody brilliant, by the way) to the genre-defining Halo and the ever-evolving Destiny. When Bungie announces a new Marathon, players sit up and listen. The expectations are astronomically high. But from what little we’ve publicly heard, the new Marathon’s recent playtest was… well, let's just say it didn't exactly set the world on fire. 'Troubled waters' is the polite industry phrase for 'things are a bit pear-shaped.' The general silence and the shift to an NDA-only test this week suggest they’ve got some serious spell-casting to do behind closed doors.
And that’s where the human element creeps in, isn't it? As gamers, we crave transparency. We want to know what's going on, even if it's just a whisper through the digital ether. An NDA test means we're back to speculation, to reading between the lines of anonymous leaks (which, let's be honest, someone will absolutely break for that sweet Reddit karma). It fuels both hope and a good dollop of skepticism – are they fixing major issues, or just polishing a slightly wonky spell? Watkins himself, bless him, expressed curiosity about Marathon's fate, even admiring its 'evocative' art style. It's a nice touch, showing that even competitors can appreciate the craft.
Then we have Arc Raiders. This isn't Embark Studios' first rodeo, either. They're the clever folks behind The Finals, a game that's got its own unique chaotic charm. Arc Raiders, initially announced as a co-op shooter, pivoted to the extraction shooter genre, which is a brave move in itself. This genre, mind you, is a deep niche. For every Escape From Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown that finds its loyal following, there are plenty that vanish into the digital void. It's a tough nut to crack, demanding a delicate balance of risk, reward, tension, and replayability without feeling like a brutal grind. Arc Raiders just wrapped up its final public playtest, and by all accounts, it seems to have gone down rather well.
So, what exactly could Arc Raiders have learned from Marathon's public outing? Watkins mentioned gauging player response to differing takes on the genre. Imagine it: Bungie tries A, Embark tries B. Players react to A in a certain way – perhaps they hate a particular inventory system, or find the extraction mechanics too punishing, or the PvP elements feel tacked on. Embark, observing from the sidelines, sees this reaction and thinks, 'Right, noted. Our approach to X or Y might need to lean more towards this direction, or definitely *away* from that direction.' It's like seeing someone else accidentally summon a fire elemental inside their house and promptly adjusting your own spell to avoid burning down the furniture.
This isn't about one game 'stealing' from another; it's about the organic, sometimes chaotic, evolution of game design. It highlights how connected the industry truly is, even when developers aren't intentionally sharing notes. Every game released, every playtest conducted, becomes a data point for everyone else. It’s a living, breathing, digital ecosystem where lessons are learned, sometimes through the misfortune of others. And frankly, mate, that's pretty cool.
What this whole saga underscores for us, the players, is the sheer challenge of crafting a truly great game, especially in a competitive genre. It’s a delicate dance of innovation, listening to feedback, and sometimes, just plain old luck. While Marathon wrestles with its demons behind an NDA curtain, Arc Raiders seems poised to burst onto the scene, perhaps a little wiser thanks to its unexpected mentor. My hope? That both games, in their own time, find their footing and offer us something genuinely fresh and engaging. Because at the end of the day, a healthy dose of competition, especially when it leads to smarter development, is always a win for us gamers.
*(Source: Rock Paper Shotgun, original article by Oisin Kuhnke)*
Tags: Gaming News, Extraction Shooter, Game Development, Bungie, Embark Studios
Original article: Rock Paper Shotgun