Back in 2022, ARC Raiders revealed itself as a co-op shooter with stylishly post-apocalyptic guerillas fighting robotic attackers that rained from the sky onto their ruined world. We haven’t heard much since. Now, developer Embark Studios is back, telling us that two years of development have refined its free to play co-op shooter into a PvPvE extraction shooter instead. It’s still a game where teams of scavengers hit the surface world hunting for the things their underground colonies need amid robotic occupation… but now they’re competing with any other scavengers that get in their way.

Also new: ARC Raiders will release in 2025 with a $40 price tag.

“Years back we announced [ARC Raiders] as a co-op only game,” said executive producer Aleksander Grondal. “But since, through extensive playtesting and internal evaluation, we evolved it into a PvPvE action survival shooter, an evolution that for us surfaced the best version of what this game could become.”

That seemed clear from the way the developers spoke about it, and from internal playtest videos that I saw during a live event. Machines were an omnipresent threat to a roving trio of raiders. Some could be taken out by quick coordinated attacks, like flocks of smaller drones, or were best avoided, like heavier fliers armed with rockets. Others were larger, more vicious multi-limbed crawlers that groaned out mechanical roars and which we only saw attacked via ambush tactics. Other teams of scavengers were the truly surprising threat—either glimpsed briefly in the distance, encountered in an interior where both parties were surprised, or spotted as an ambush at an extraction point.

“This is a game that lives on tension,” said chief creative officer Stefan Strandberg, “where you have to be on your toes. Listen to the world around you in moments of silence.” Strandberg’s statement really hit home with what I saw of ARC Raiders, which was very distinctly lacking in heavy background music, instead favoring environmental noises like wind, trees, water, footsteps, and the noises of characters cracking open boxes with tools.

There was space for all that noise, too, and fights between both players and machines are intended to be spaced out. “The game needs to have the room to build tension properly,” said Grondal, “and that means the pacing between interactions of other players and the AI needs to have enough space for you to feel that.”

The enemies previewed had very distinct sounds to them as well: Fliers had a precise quadcopter buzzing and signal beeping, while rolling explosive bombs had a rotary whine and four-legged hunting walkers had a grinding groan and whir. If the ARC Raiders delivers on this promise, it’s definitely the kind of experience where veterans will recognize and hunt enemies based on the sounds of individual weapons and the weight of footsteps.

It will at least make ARC Raiders stand out when compared to many other modern multiplayer shooters, which are often going louder, faster, and more in sync with a musical score. Strandberg and Grondal were clear that Embark wants ARC Raiders to be a slower and more decisive game – one with consequential choices in how you play and what your setup was beyond the precise details of your gun mods. (Though, I have to say, there was definitely a big page full of gun mods.)

Strandberg in particular said that the studio’s goal was to make it a “rich sandbox of gadgets and tools beyond your military shooter” while still being “grounded” and “tactile.” That seemed at least partially evident in how characters jogged around the world and did heavy vaults over obstacles while laden with equipment. It was also clear in the gadgets they used in footage: One clip showed a player with a kind of grappling gun that pulled them to the upper window of a building, while another showed a player hooking to some kind of stationary zipline.

In another fight a player first deployed a smoke grenade to put cover between himself and an ARC machine walker, then placed a land mine nearby before continuing to run… only to throw a “lure grenade” to the mine’s location once a little further away. The robots are clearly tough, though—only after repeating the trick a second time did it go down, and that was all the grenades the player seemed to have.

The players of the brief gameplay demo escaped their jaunt to the surface via a subway stop—after some tense cat-and-mouse gunplay with another team camping the extraction site. Their “time on surface” clocks read 11 minutes, 39 seconds as the loot screen rolled. They didn’t yet know exactly how many people would be in a match, but they did say that crossplay was intended and that ongoing matches currently backfilled new teams as older ones extracted.

Grondal said that ARC Raiders should release with a “robust” live service experience, including regular free updates post-launch.

As to how the team felt about the switch from a focus on co-op to the PvP element being front and center? “We kept the good parts, and that was 100% the right decision,” said Grondal, “and the game is so much better for it.”

Walmart is offering a 20% discount on the professional-grade Xbox Series X Elite Series 2 Wireless Controller. Right now you can grab it for only $142.33 shipped (normally $180). This is the original Black model that includes the component pack. The newer Elite Series 2 Core controllers in White, Blue, and Red do not include the component pack and they normally retail for $140. The component pack retails for $59.99.

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 for $142.33

Includes component pack

The Xbox Elite Series 2 Core controller features better build quality and lots more customizability than the stock controller that comes with the Xbox Series X console. Some of the pro gaming features include adjustable-tension thumbsticks, wrap-around rubberized grip, and shorter hair trigger locks. The component pack, which is bundled with this controller, includes an extra sets of paddles, thumbsticks, D-pad, and case.

Check out the best Xbox deals today for more discounts on Xbox accessories.

Woot! (which is owned by Amazon) is offering the best deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Right now you can get a 3 month code for only $36.49. Microsoft recently raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $19.99 per month, so now you’re saving 40% off a 3 month membership. Note that you can purchase multiple codes and apply them to your account, up to a maximum of 36 months. This deal was supposed to expire last week, but Woot! has extended the deadline to August 23.

Note: There is a coupon code “VIDEOGAMES” that takes $3 off one order. If you purchase multiple gift cards, this code will only work on a single gift card.

3 Months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $33.49

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to a library of hundreds of Xbox games, including day one releases. You can play them for the entirety of your membership without any restrictions. You do lose access to them once your membership is over, but if you ever decide to renew, all your past achievements and progress will be saved. You’ll also have access to Xbox Game Pass for PC. Although there aren’t nearly as many games as there are on Xbox, there are still plenty of AAA titles to keep you sated. Other perks include exclusive membership discounts, the ability to play your games across multiple devices with cloud gaming, free access to EA Play membership, as well as bonus in-game content and rewards. It is an exceptionally good – almost essential – membership for Xbox gamers. New release games are not cheap, and being able to play them without buying them will save you a lot of money and easily recoup the cost of the membership.

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When F-Zero rose from the dead in 2023’s September Nintendo Direct, no one was more surprised than the man who designed Captain Falcon over three decades ago.

Ex-Nintendo designer Takaya Imamura was with the company for over 30 years, with credits on all-time classics like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Star Fox 64, and F-Zero. But when F-Zero 99 launched on Nintendo Switch last year, it was the first entry in the franchise without Imamura’s input, and the creator admits he wouldn’t have thought of the 99-player online direction for the series.

“The first thing I thought was really that if I’d still been at Nintendo, I don’t think I’d have been able to take this approach to it.,” Imamura says. “So I was really surprised that they made such an original take on the IP on the game itself and arranged it in such a fun way.”

Imamura may not be at Nintendo anymore, but he still holds his two main creations – F-Zero and Star Fox – very close to his heart. In fact, Imamura has already found his way back to video game development, as he’s working on a new project with an art style that’s very reminiscent of his pair of Nintendo darlings. OMEGA 6: The Triangle Stars uses the same retro future art style that Imamura built his career on, and it’s the first game he’s worked on since leaving Nintendo three years ago.

“I think it’s the first time I’ve drawn pixel art since Star Fox on Super Nintendo, which has been a while,” he says with a smile.

Imamura’s OMEGA 6 began with a 2022 manga published in France that’s now being adapted into an adventure game due out on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2025. It’s set around a journey to locate a new home planet for the human race, and Imamura says he put his all into the original comic before beginning work on the video game.

While Imamura himself tinkers on a new IP, he also comments on the state of the games and entertainment industry, noting how difficult it is for a new idea to take off.

“I think Nintendo’s real peak was when [Shigeru] Miyamoto-san was in a really central position and they were creating lots of new IP. But at the moment – and this is not just related to Nintendo – but at the moment, in the games market and in general in the entertainment world, it’s really tough to bring a new IP to market and have it be successful.”

Read on for IGN’s full interview with Imamura-san (through an interpreter), where we discuss where F-Zero goes from here, his new project OMEGA 6, why Star Fox 64 is still the most special game he’s worked on, and the keys to Nintendo’s success in the future.

IGN: When you spoke with IGN in 2021 right after you left Nintendo, you said F-Zero wasn’t gone for good, but a grand new idea was needed to bring it back. Last year, Nintendo revealed and released F-Zero 99, the first F-Zero game released that you weren’t involved with. What were the emotions when you saw F-Zero finally return from the outside?

Takaya Imamura: First off, I was really surprised. The first thing I thought was really that if I’d still been at Nintendo, I don’t think I’d have been able to take this approach to it. So I was really surprised that they made such an original take on the IP on the game itself and arranged it in such a fun way.

IGN: Why don’t you think that you would’ve been able to take that direction?

Imamura: I think it was mainly because when I saw it, I thought, “Well, that’s just like Nintendo to take this direction.” And for me, F-Zero, I’ve been working on it so long that I’ve got this… My vision of it is not as flexible as whoever took the reins on [F-Zero] 99 and was able to basically think outside the box and recreate what it was.

IGN: So now that Nintendo has acknowledged F-Zero again in this way, where do you think this series can go from here?

Imamura: If you’re asking me, in my imagination, I’m seeing something scaled up akin to F-Zero GX. But given Nintendo’s got the reins at the moment, I think they as a company will probably take it in the direction for a wider range of players, including casual gamers as well. So it’s an IP that can really capture a wide range of players.

IGN: I think that we’re in agreement that GX is the pinnacle of the F-Zero series, but basically every F-Zero game is fantastic and the sales numbers didn’t always reflect their quality. And that led to a near twenty-year hiatus. I’m wondering, as the series progressed, did you and the team ever feel like you needed a big sales hit to keep the series alive? Or as a creative were you never really focused on that side of things?

Imamura: Of course, the most important thing of any product is that it sells. So that was the first thing on our mind. We can’t just focus on game fans. We couldn’t, I couldn’t when I was at Nintendo. But F-Zero and Star Fox tend to be supported by more core gamers than casual, and Nintendo obviously needs to be able to approach a wider range of players. So yes, of course, the first thing on my mind was to have something that sells. But these games seemed to have better support with a more core gamer audience.

IGN: So you just mentioned Star Fox, and last time we spoke with you, you called Star Fox 64, “the game of your life.” And I think a lot of fans agree that is the highlight of that series. I’m wondering if you can share why Star Fox 64 is so special to you beyond the fact that you put so much care and hard work into it.

Imamura: I think it’s difficult to express exactly why I feel that, but I think it’s probably mainly because out of all the games I’ve worked on, it’s the one where my vision has been most reflected in the final product. I was able to put most, if not all, of the ideas I had into the game. So it’s the game that I’ve made that has the most of me in it. I’m a huge film and game fan myself. And I think probably Star Fox 64 has the most elements of that, homage to other creative works, film, games, et cetera.

IGN: We’ve talked about F-Zero and Star Fox, and now you’re working on OMEGA 6, and it only takes a glance to see the similarities in your character design with those two Nintendo series we’ve touched on. OMEGA 6: The Triangle Stars uses your iconic retro future art style that F-Zero and Star Fox share. Can you just tell me very simply to readers who may not know, what is OMEGA 6?

Imamura: I don’t know if it’s the elevator pitch, but in a single phrase, the best way to describe it would be that it’s the video game spin-off product of me really wanting to become a manga artist, a mangaka, and creating a comic, putting my all into this comic and then spinning off into a game.

IGN: I find that really interesting because you left Nintendo to try something new, and you’ve been teaching, you wrote this manga, but through it all, it’s led you back to video game development. And I’m wondering when you left Nintendo, if you planned to eventually work on another game again and how that all came to be.

Imamura: Well, I had actually been thinking about game development. It was on my mind after I’d left, but I wasn’t thinking about something quite as large as OMEGA 6 has become. It was more a compact, smaller experience at first, but then we started adding things, and before I knew it, here we are.

IGN: What excites you the most about OMEGA 6? And what do you want to tell fans of your previous works about it to get them excited as well?

Imamura: Well, one of the things would be that I basically drew every single pixel in the game. So the first thing would be that I want the fans to look at the pixel art and enjoy it basically. I think it’s the first time I’ve drawn pixel art since Star Fox on Super Nintendo, which has been a while.

IGN: So speaking of that, the Super Nintendo was a long time ago, and you saw Nintendo through many highs and many lows. And right now, Nintendo’s riding what you could call an all-time high, at least financially speaking. In your opinion, what about Nintendo’s leadership and direction keeps the company relevant both across the generations that you were there for and into the future?

Imamura: Obviously, it’s just my opinion, but I think Nintendo’s real peak was when Miyamoto-san was in a really central position and they were creating lots of new IP. But at the moment – and this is not just related to Nintendo – but at the moment, in the games market and in general in the entertainment world, it’s really tough to bring a new IP to market and have it be successful. So I think what Nintendo will need to do is to work on new IP and also the existing IP, become something like Disney in terms of having all these IPs that they can create products from.

IGN: I want to make sure we touch on Zelda because you were the art director on Majora’s Mask, which is one of the most visually interesting games in the series. And the story is different and mature as well about sadness and regret. What it was like working on a Zelda game that’s still so distinct from the rest of the franchise?

Imamura: That’s quite a well-known episode in that the president of the Nintendo at the time, [Hiroshi] Yamauchi, the order came down from him to make a new Zelda in one year. And so it came down to two points. One of them was that we had the previous Zelda and we wanted to differentiate it from that. And the other one was how do we create a new world, something that is very new, that is distinctively different from previous Zeldas in such a short time? And that was basically what we came up with. We took a different path visually and conceptually. My job on the art side was to make it different from Ocarina of Time – as clearly different as possible. And that’s why we ended up with the world that that game is set in.

IGN: I’ve always been very fascinated by the design of Majora’s Mask itself, the item. When I was a kid, I used to just stare at the cover art of it on the Nintendo 64 box. What were your inspirations for the design of the very creepy mask?

Imamura: So in Osaka, there’s a museum that collects lots of different artifacts and clothing from different ethnic groups. And I often go there for inspiration for different designs and stuff. And for the mask in particular, that was one place where I absorbed a lot of design ideas from.

IGN: My final question here is, as the person who created Tingle, every time a new Zelda is revealed, are you hoping that Tingle shows up in some capacity?

Imamura: [Laughs] I haven’t seen him in recent games, but I think there is a character similar to Tingle in Tears of the Kingdom.

IGN: Thank you so much, Imamura-san. I appreciate the time, and best of luck with OMEGA 6 and at gamescom.

Imamura: Thank you for your time as well.

Parts of this interview were edited for clarity.

Logan Plant is IGN’s Database Manager, Playlist Editor, and Super Ninfriendo on Nintendo Voice Chat. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Blogroll image credit: Takaya Imamura (https://twitter.com/ima_1966/status/1351786503815397376/photo/1)