There's a vibe shift happening in multiplayer shooters. The shine of free-to-play has thoroughly faded, and it's now fashionable to buy games again—a trend partially fueled by the howling success of Arc Raiders last year. The extraction shooter has sold millions over a few months and maintained a huge audience over the holiday break.
But it almost didn't go down that way. Arc Raiders was planned as a free-to-play game for the majority of its lengthy development, but in late 2024, Embark pivoted to a traditional paid model. In a recent interview with GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi, Embark founder Patrick Söderlund reflected on the decision, and said it was easier to cut against the grain of free-to-play after witnessing the success of other premium multiplayer games like Helldivers 2.
