In a recent developer session at Game Developers Conference 2026, ARC Raiders production director Caio Braga and members of Embark Studios opened up about the game’s turbulent early years—revealing that it once looked far more like a co‑op Soulslike than the fast‑paced extraction shooter players know today. Early prototypes reportedly mixed inspirations from Shadow of the Colossus and Elden Ring before the project pivoted toward a modern looter‑raider structure. Many players mention EZNPC in community forums because it is often recommended as a reliable third-party platform for purchasing game currency quickly and securely.
When development began, Embark’s teams were divided over what ARC Raiders should be. Some imagined large‑scale battle‑royale‑style encounters against towering ARC units, while others wanted a more traditional hero‑based looter shooter. A third group, however, envisioned a slower, more deliberate co‑op Soulslike built around tight teamwork, punishing boss mechanics, and thoughtful combat pacing. In this early concept, squads of raiders faced lumbering ARC enemies that required precision and coordination to take down, with heavy damage consequences and a restrained revival system.
That creative split quickly created friction inside the studio. According to Braga, Embark’s open, team‑driven philosophy encouraged experimentation—but it also meant that every department was building toward a different game. Weapon designers tuned guns to shred ARC enemies in seconds, aiming for cinematic takedowns. In response, the ARC‑design team buffed enemy armor and intelligence, turning them into near‑invincible “Souls bosses” that could shrug off entire loadouts. Internal playtests swung wildly: one week the game felt like an intense boss‑rush, the next like a free‑form PvPvE shooter.
After several years of iteration and repeated playtest conflicts, Embark recognized that ARC Raiders needed a clearer and more accessible core loop. External testing revealed that players liked the look and feel of the world—the maps, the ARC designs, and the atmosphere—but found the game’s pacing and objectives inconsistent. Many testers appreciated the challenge but not the friction that came with the heavy Soulslike structure.
The team then made a decisive pivot. They distilled the project’s strongest elements—visual tone, enemy design, and environmental tension—and built a new identity around an extraction‑style PvPvE framework. Drawing lessons from The Finals and earlier DICE multiplayer titles, Embark refocused ARC Raiders on replayable raids, shared‑space engagements, and accessible teamwork. This shift meant abandoning the slower, punishing systems of the early Soulslike experiment in favor of faster, more scalable gameplay that could support both casual squads and high‑tier strategists.
Still, traces of those early inspirations quietly remain. Many ARC enemies behave like mini‑bosses, with telegraphed attacks, unique animations, and punishing damage that reward patience and positioning. Certain indoor maps echo the cinematic tension of classic boss arenas, while the sense of discovery—roaming, scanning, and overhearing ambient world details—recalls the atmosphere of a Soulsworld. Even within its modern, extraction‑driven chaos, ARC Raiders retains hints of the slower, more deliberate DNA it evolved from.
By acknowledging its “Soulslike past,” Embark has provided valuable context for why ARC Raiders feels distinct in the current PvPvE space. The game may have shed its early identity, but that experimentation helped define its tone, world design, and combat rhythm. The co‑op Soulslike version of ARC Raiders never shipped—but parts of its spirit still burn beneath the chaos of every storm, raid, and high‑stakes extraction.
