From hype explosion to bitter disappointment: ARC Raiders developers apologise for 'countdown to countdown'
ARC Raiders, the long-awaited action shooter by Embark Studios, appeared at Summer Game Fest with a new trailer and release date. But it was not the date the community was waiting for. Instead of the long-awaited "shadow" launch that many fans expected, the game will appear only in October, which led to a flurry of indignation that the developers had to respond to urgently.
Here's What We Know
For a long time, the ARC Raiders community has been expecting that, like Embark's previous game, The Finals, the plan would be to "shadow launch" during SGF (or at least release a beta). Fans even conducted internal "file excavations" and found a countdown in those files that seemed to indicate the game's launch.
That didn't happen (the game will be released on 30 October), and despite the fact that it was never promised, the community was unhappy. So unhappy that Embark Studios has now issued an apology for the countdown that players mistook for a launch. Here is the statement posted on Discord:
"Ahead of the Raiders ARC date reveal, we ran a countdown to 6 June. This gave the false impression that we would release the game right away. Instead, you found out that ARC Raiders will be released on October 30, turning it into a countdown to the countdown."
"The disappointment and frustration that followed is 100% our fault. The teaser we released was a source of genuine excitement. We finally have a real date! But it's clear that what we thought was playful and hype-inducing was misleading and disappointing to many of you, and we understand why."
"We mismanaged the hype, we misjudged the situation, and we're very sorry that it led to disappointment. We are building this game for you, and your response to ARC Raiders has been humbling, overwhelming and exciting."
"Next steps: we're focusing on building the game. We know that games live and die by polish and quality, balance and long-term satisfaction. We need this extra time to make sure we can meet your expectations. Stay tuned to our website and social media for updates on our progress and path to launch. Thank you for holding us to a high standard. We intend to live up to them."
It's a strange situation that seems to be a mixture of players' inflated expectations and ARC's inability to capitalise on its momentum. Or at least not managing expectations about what will happen or not. ARC recently had a brilliant alpha that eclipsed that of the competitive shooter Marathon, and the game just seemed ready to go. Still, it is better to give the authors time to do everything perfectly so that we get a quality game.
Source: Discord
