- Primary Subject: Extraction Shooter Genre Evolution
- Key Update: ARC Raiders and Marathon are introducing PvE-focused modes and features to appeal to a broader, more casual audience.
- Status: trending
- Last Verified: 2026-09-25
- Quick Answer: The extraction shooter genre is evolving with games like ARC Raiders and Marathon introducing PvE modes and other changes to attract a wider, more casual player base.
It seems the era of developers and companies trying to make extraction shooters the next big thing in gaming is over, much to the surprise of no one. The genre has always had a fervent fanbase, albeit not a massive one like regular first-person shooters such as Call of Duty or battle royales.
That doesn’t mean the genre will fade into obscurity; on the contrary, it will have to evolve in order to allow casual players to enjoy what it has to offer. That is why two of the biggest games in the genre, ARC Raiders and Marathon, are making conscious efforts to open the doors for wider audiences to enjoy them. How? By removing the friction inherent to the genre, adding PvE-only modes and other content.
There’s no denying that both games are quite good. I enjoyed the time I invested in both. Ultimately, I realized the extraction shooter gameplay loop wasn’t something I enjoyed. I’m a former Destiny 2 player; I love improving my gear and coming up with builds to maximize my damage output, putting it all to the test in difficult content like Nightfalls and raids.
ARC Raiders offered a fun, novel type of game I had barely engaged with. But one that, amid the constant stress of potentially losing all my hard-earned gear and a seasonal wipe, removed my incentive to keep going. A similar case happened with Marathon, which offers that crisp, responsive Bungie gunplay, but wrapped around a gameplay loop I simply don’t enjoy.
ARC Raiders in particular has been a massive commercial success, selling over 16 million copies. You’d think they would have a thriving community, but the fact that the game has an average daily player base of 20k on Steam is a telling sign that a massive amount of players bought into the hype and never bothered returning.
20k active daily players on a single platform isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but again, context is key, and the fact is that a live-service game that has lost an absurd amount of paying customers is cause for alarm. Marathon is in an even direr situation, as it didn’t even have the strong start that Embark Studios’ title had.
That is why I don’t blame them for trying to remove entry barriers for casual players to hop back in. Embark will be trying out a PvE toggle from October 13–20, 2026, that will remove the PvP aspect of the shooter, allowing those who want a fully co-op experience to essentially play a completely different version of the game.
The core of the game will see changes that could impact many aspects of it, so Embark is tweaking things like the economy (PvPvE will have more rewarding loot) and events like Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, and Locked Gate. So, as you can see, it’s not really the original vision of ARC Raiders if all of the tension is removed.
Bungie, on the other hand, hasn’t fully explained what Marathon’s PvE experience will look like, but unlike ARC’s, it will become a permanent mode starting this December (delayed from October). It will be accompanied by a social space as well, which is slightly turning Marathon into Destiny-lite.
All of these measures might turn off the hardcore extraction shooter enthusiasts, but it looks like, after dwindling player interest and retention, the era of major developers trying to make extraction shooters work without appealing to casuals is done and dusted.
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