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The Latest Breaking News from Patrick Söderlund

Arc Raiders is such a huge hit, Nexon has put Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund in charge of everything else too

Söderlund has been named executive chairman of Nexon, heading up "long-term strategy, creative direction, and how Nexon develops games globally."

PC Gamer

'Arc Raiders is almost like a social experiment': Embark Studios' CEO reveals a neurology professor encouraged him to submit the game for scientific testing to study player behaviour

Most gamers should be scientifically studied tbh.

PC Gamer

"'You have no idea what you've built'": Arc Raiders lead says a "prominent professor in neurology" encouraged him to submit the extraction shooter to science

"We may not go that far"

GamesRadar

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"I think Speranza is heavily underutilized": Arc Raiders boss wants to see more social elements and thinks the main city is ripe for "something else"

Embark is looking at ways to make both PvE and PvP more fun

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders boss says he'll "apologize" to Italy's Stella Montis hotel after it's flooded with reviews from players: "I didn't know about that. That's amazing"

Sorry, Stella Montis

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders boss says "that's not the vision for our game" when asked about Fortnite-style skins, prefers the Battlefield 6 route where "everything fits the fiction"

Don't expect any Goku or Homer Simpson costumes

GamesRadar

ARC Raiders dev is making 2 new games fueled by the "financial security" of the extraction shooter's success — "We can live for a long time on the money"

After the colossal success of ARC Raiders, dev Embark Studios has "long-term security," and has two new games in the works that "we hope to finish someday."

Windows Central

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Reported Arc Raiders budget of $75 million is "not too far off," says Embark head: "We can live for a long time on the money that Arc Raiders has been generating"

Arc Raiders didn't cost "hundreds and hundreds of millions"

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders had an auction house-style trade system at one point, but Embark removed it because it ruined loot: "It turned the game into just being about coins"

But the devs do want to make trading more social and fun

GamesRadar

Embark dispels myths about Arc Raiders' aggression-based matchmaking: 'We don't make any value or moral judgments … it's a bit of a blunt instrument'

Embark doesn't want you to feel penalized for choosing violence in Arc Raiders.

PC Gamer

Embark's CEO says they couldn't compete 'with the likes of EA and Activision' head on so they had to 'change the way games were being developed'

Where there's a will there's a way.

PC Gamer

Embark CEO says Arc Raiders 'should do more with the trading part of the game' and he's right

"We're going to want to do more of that because it's fun."

PC Gamer

Embark CEO says 'it would be fun' to have an Arc Raiders TV show or movie after receiving multiple offers, but it's not in the cards right now

But it's probably coming, right?

PC Gamer

Arc Raider's defining feature, according to Embark's CEO, is all the odd player interactions: 'We did not expect people to take on roles of Defender of the Swamp'

It's the best proximity chat I've encountered in a very long time.

PC Gamer

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PC Gamer

'We don't use AI…to replace people,' claims Arc Raiders CEO, without actually explaining what they do use it for

Embark isn't abandoning AI any time soon.

GamesRadar

"The first dialog we had was obviously centered around [GTA 6]": Arc Raiders devs "did not want to be close" to Rockstar at launch, but were just fine challenging Call of Duty

It certainly worked out for Embark

PC Gamer

'We did not want to be close to them': The only game Arc Raiders wanted to avoid on release was predictably GTA 6, 'I don't think anyone wanted to be close to them'

Embark wasn't as worried about Call of Duty or Battlefield.

GamesRadar

Arc Raiders devs were inspired by Helldivers 2 when they shifted from free-to-play to a $40 game: "We don't want the price to be an offender for someone"

"I hope that people, given how much time they seem to spend in the game, feel like we've given them value for money"

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news in one place.

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PC Gamer

'The game isn't about shooting other players': Embark CEO says Arc Raiders is unlikely to get a PvP leaderboard because the devs 'don't necessarily want to foster that kind of gameplay'

You can't have a murder leaderboard without a murder competition.

PC Gamer

Embark boss says Arc Raiders $40 price was inspired by the likes of Helldivers 2: 'We'd rather make people feel like it's totally worth 40 bucks'

Embark and Arrowhead have found a multiplayer pricing sweet spot.

PC Gamer

Huh, Arc Raiders' maps are heavily based on real-world locations: 'Spaceport was actually done in Tenerife'

"The real work is actually making sure the map plays well."

Total Film

Embark boss says an Arc Raiders movie or TV show would be "fun", but "it needs to be done in the right way": "I can't tell you how many companies have reached out to us"

Embark CEO Patrick Söderland says he's had plenty of offers for an Arc Raiders movie or TV show

TechRadar

Yes, Arc Raiders does matchmake you based on how friendly or aggressive you are

Arc Raiders now matches you with like-minded players based on your proclivity towards PvP or PvE. This is according to developer comments shared during an extended playthrough.

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders dev says it uses 'aggression-based matchmaking' to pair bloodthirsty, PvP-minded players with each other

Kill and be killed.

PC Gamer

Arc Raiders' use of AI highlights the tension and confusion over where machine learning ends and generative AI begins

Embark Studios' contradictory statements about generative AI highlight what's sure to be a long-term industry debate.

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