The Archers the project director said it was coincidental timing for the extraction shooter to start testing around the same time as Bungie’s game Marathoncalling it “a great A/B test for us.”
Since Marathon offers features that Arc Raiders doesn’t – and vice versa – Embark Studios’ Virgil Watkins said it was useful to compare feedback from not only the Arc Raiders community, but also the Marathon community to “compare and contrast how some of these things were shaking out.”
I’m talking to Computer gamerWatkins said: “It’s just a coincidental fact that they ran the test around the same time as us. As far as I know, I don’t think any of us knew that would happen. It was a very successful A/B test for us because they obviously made decisions that we didn’t make, and vice versa. So we were able to kind of compare and contrast the impact of some of these things.”
Although the Marathon tests were only available to a select few, Watkin stated that he saw enough to find the art style “very evocative”, adding that he was “personally curious to see how it would end. I hope to see more of this in the future.”
Arc Raiders completed its “Server Slam” weekend playtest with a immense number of players on Steamsuggesting a mighty launch ahead of its October 30 release date. It reached a peak concurrent player count of 189,668, making it one of the most played games on Valve’s platform over the weekend and the biggest extraction shooter in Steam history.
And the Marathon? It is a sci-fi extraction shooter We are running another invitation-only technical test for North American and European players on PS5, Xbox Series X and S and Steam from October 22 to 28.
“This is an important milestone for us as we test our improvements from alpha, including three maps, five runner missiles, proximity chat, revised combat pacing, solo queue, deeper environmental storytelling and more,” Sony-owned studio he wrote. “That said, the Tech Test build is ongoing and will only include a portion of what is planned for the full Marathon build, focusing on early player experiences.”
A public update – one of the first since Marathon’s high-profile delay to an unspecified date – on the shooter’s development will be released “after a closed technical test.”
Marathon’s previously planned September 23, 2025 release date has been scrapped due to “diverse” player feedback. “In every comment and real-time conversation on social media and Discord, your voice was strong and clear,” Bungie said at the time. “We took this to heart and know we need more time to create a Marathon game that truly reflects your passion. After much discussion among our development team, we have made the decision to delay the launch on September 23.”
Vikki Blake is an IGN reporter, critic, columnist and consultant with over 15 years of experience working with some of the world’s largest gaming sites and publications. She is also a Guardian, a Spartan, a Silent Hillian, a Legend, and an eternally High Chaos. Find her on Blue Sky.
