While Marathon’s attempt at permanent PvE hasn’t translated to higher player numbers, ARC Raiders saw a strong response during its limited test (further aided by a free weekend). As Embark Studios ruminates on its implementation, CEO Patrick Söderlund admitted that it wouldn’t be a “difficult thing to do.”
“We could just frankly add PvE. It’s not a difficult thing to do. But we didn’t want to obstruct or fiddle too much with the core loop of the game where the PvP aspect of a PvPvE game does add, we believe, adequate tension,” he revealed to The Game Business in a recent talk.
“When you’re building a game, what you’re trying to do is to evoke emotion in players. If you can evoke emotions in people, you’re probably doing something right. It could be joy, it could be fear, whatever your aspirations are. A game that does all of those things will probably do relatively well. ARC Raiders does touch a lot of those different types of emotions, and by removing one substantial component, you’re fiddling with the core emotional loop,
