Marathon’s Upset Was to ARC Raiders’ Benefit, “They Were a Great A/B Test,” Says Embark Studios

While Bungie’s Marathon and Embark Studios’ ARC Raiders have both faced their share of scrutiny during development, it appears one studio’s struggles turned out to be a valuable lesson for the other. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, ARC Raiders technical director Virgil Watkins revealed that the timing of both games’ public playtests earlier this year offered a unique opportunity for Embark Studios to observe and learn from Marathon’s reception.

“It was very coincidental that they had their test around the time we did. To my knowledge, I don’t think any of us knew that was going to happen,” said Watkins. “It was a very great A/B test for us, because obviously they made decisions that we didn’t, and vice versa. So we could kind of compare and contrast how some of those things shook out.”

Back in April, both Marathon and ARC Raiders hosted playtests that unintentionally overlapped. While the coincidence wasn’t planned, Watkins said that the overlap provided invaluable feedback opportunities for Embark. “It was quite interesting to follow what players thought about those certain things, what worked in their context and didn’t, and what may have worked in ours.”

Watkins didn’t specify which elements of Marathon’s design or feedback Embark studied most closely, but the connection is clear. Both titles fall under the extraction shooter genre, where pacing, team coordination, and tension between risk and reward are central to player engagement. Given how Marathon’s reception has been mixed, its playtest offered Embark a rare, real-time case study on how audiences respond to certain gameplay or structural decisions.

Embark’s most recent “Server Slam Test”, which ran from October 17–19, allowed players across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S to experience the latest build of ARC Raiders. The event drew a strong response, with Steam concurrent players peaking at 189,668, according to SteamDB. The test was widely viewed as a success and a crucial step before the game’s launch.

Unlike the studio’s free-to-play hit The Finals, ARC Raiders is a premium release, meaning players will need to purchase it at launch. That adds pressure for Embark to deliver a polished, engaging experience capable of sustaining a paid player base. something Watkins and his team appear to be fine-tuning through these tests.

As for Marathon, Bungie is still pressing forward despite uncertainty surrounding its direction. The studio plans to host a closed, invite-only playtest later this month, though all participants will be under NDA. The future of Marathon remains unclear, especially given the mixed community response and shifting priorities within Bungie following internal restructuring.

For Embark Studios, however, Watkins’ comments make it evident that even competitors’ challenges can offer valuable insights. Marathon’s missteps, intentional or not, have seemingly reinforced ARC Raiders’ roadmap toward launch, and possibly helped shape a better final product.

Do you think ARC Raiders can succeed where Marathon struggled? Share your thoughts below.