ARC Raiders Devs Struggle to Implement PvE Without Undermining PvP

Extraction shooters have always balanced on a bit of a precipice, requiring multiple disparate factors to be true at once to really justify themselves. For the perfect extraction shooter, players and enemies both need to be a threat, gathering gear needs to be rewarding, and the threat of losing it all needs to be constant, all while trying to thrill players without actually pulling the trigger. ARC Raiders was 2025's shooter sensation, and the title saw a strong split between players willing to tear through other players and those who wanted to foster cooperation.