Arc Raiders is said to have taken three years to make.

Arc Raiders is one of the most popular multiplayer shooters of the past few years. Not only was it a huge hit upon release, but it maintained player numbers for a long time, outperforming games like Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Developer Embark seems to have found the secret to live gaming success.

While developers like Ubisoft are going through major restructurings, layoffs, and studio closures, Embark has benefited from this approach. So what's working differently? Industry analyst Michael Pachter attributes this to short development cycles and relatively low budgets.

Development of Arc Raiders was short and cheap (relatively)

In Arc Raiders, three raiders are having a conversation.

On the SIFTD Games YouTube channel (thank you, Insider Gaming), Pachter spoke about Ubisoft's current predicament and how they were able to overcome it. He mainly criticized the studio's development formula, which featured huge budgets, long development cycles, and ultimately mediocre sales. He said one of the biggest mistakes developers can make is comparing themselves to legacy studios when they should be comparing them to Embark and Arc Raiders.

It takes Ubisoft five years to release a game that sells five million units, and according to Pachter, that formula isn't working. It shouldn't take a studio more than three years to make a game that sells that much.

A person wearing a gas mask is walking away from a small explosion.

relevant

Arc Raiders were accused of producing a map event for “unemployed people.”

Arc Raiders' new Bird City event has Europeans upset.

“Everyone loves to look at Rockstar and say: They plan to spend $1.52 billion to build the GTA. [6].” Yes, they could make $2 billion in the first week. You know, they can afford it. Ubisoft can't. So everyone shouldn't compare themselves to GTA or FIFA or the former glory of Call of Duty, which is clearly in decline now. People should compare. [themselves] To the Ark Raiders.”

“Here's a little secret: It cost $75 million to make Arc Raiders. Three years, a team of 70 people, and that includes marketing. It cost $75 million to make that game, and it's already made $500 million. 12.5 million copies made for $40.”

This is a relatively short time for a popular live service game. Sure, there are some issues, but when you look at the end product and its performance, $75 million over three years doesn't sound like a relatively small amount.