Is ARC Raiders in Trouble? Marathon's March 2026 Launch May Cause a Player Exodus
Category: ARC Raiders Posted: Jan 23, 2026 Views: 1213
Since its release on October 30, 2025, ARC Raiders has created a new wave in the first-person shooter genre, leaving other classic shooter series struggling to compete with its new installments.
However, the market is never short of new games, and ARC Raiders is not without its flaws. Therefore, the new first-person shooter Marathon, scheduled for release on March 5, 2026, may pose a challenge to ARC Raiders.
Based on this, we will analyze the playability and strengths of both games to determine whether Marathon might cause a loss of ARC Raiders players.

Basic gameplay of the two games
If you've chosen to read this article, you're probably already familiar with ARC Raiders. The game is set in a post-apocalyptic Earth invaded by alien ARC bots. Your task is to travel from underground to the surface, defeat the bots and other enemies to obtain loot.
Building upon this foundation, ARC Raiders has expanded to include multiple maps and map events, a vast item system, and other content, providing a rich gaming experience with its PvPvE gameplay.
While Marathon hasn't officially launched yet, it released a closed technical alpha test in October 2025. It's also a multiplayer extraction-style PvPvE shooter with an alien setting, but the main battleground is located on an alien planet called Tau Ceti IV.
The gameplay of the two games is quite similar: both involve scavenging for loot in a shared environment and trying to extract before being eliminated by enemy players or PvE enemies. Both also offer solo, duo, and trio team modes.
Does Marathon have any advantages?
Based on the introduction and analysis of the basic gameplay of the two games, they are very similar. The main difference lies in the player's perspective: ARC Raiders is third-person, while Marathon is first-person.
Of course, neither is inherently superior, but as a player, you might have your own preferences, and consuming too much time in the third-person perspective of ARC Raiders might make you want to try a new view.
In fact, ARC Raiders players recently discovered a bug that allowed a brief experience of first-person combat.
Although the developers quickly fixed it, and the experience was quite rough, it still sparked heated discussion within the player community. This clearly demonstrates a strong desire for a completely new perspective.
Whether ARC Raiders plans to release a first-person mode later, it's unlikely to happen before Marathon's release - assuming the latter isn't delayed.
In this sense, at least for a while after Marathon's release, some players focused on extraction shooters will probably shift their attention to Marathon. And if they find Marathon to have greater potential in the short term, they might temporarily abandon ARC Raiders.
Another crucial point is that Marathon isn't a completely new game like ARC Raiders; it has a predecessor, Marathon Infinity, and a complete series, albeit one whose initial release was at the end of the last century.
This very fact means that a group of longtime fans and retro enthusiasts will inevitably pay more attention to 2026 version of Marathon.
Furthermore, ARC Raiders' use of AI for character voice acting caused considerable controversy within the industry and among players, while Marathon has announced a stellar voice actor lineup.
This means that many shooter fans who abandoned ARC Raiders due to AI controversy will probably choose to support Marathon. It's hard to say whether this is a unique kind of competitive strategy employed by Marathon.
ARC Raiders shows no signs of decline
Despite listing many of Marathon's strengths, this doesn't mean ARC Raiders is entirely without merit. While the game does have its shortcomings, its core gameplay remains very enjoyable.
Building on this, ARC Raiders plans to release a new update soon, likely including new maps, map events, and other activities, similar to Cold Snap update that ended on January 13th.
If the update is well-received, ARC Raiders should see a steady stream of new content releases in the first half of 2026. Combined with measures to combat cheaters and other improvements, this should keep players engaged.
More importantly, while the lack of a first-person perspective might seem like a disadvantage for ARC Raiders, Marathon also lacks a third-person view, which can actually enhance interactivity and cooperation.
Both ARC Raiders and Marathon are essentially PvPvE games, and players seem to prioritize PvP elements. However, based on previous testing, it appears that defeating enemies in Marathon doesn't require any teamwork.
Furthermore, ARC Raiders' unique PvE enemy design is one of its charms, and the development team is likely to add more ARC bots in the future. In comparison, Marathon's PvE elements and mechanics appear relatively weak.
Summary
Since Marathon hasn't officially launched yet, and ARC Raiders is still under development and improvement, we can't definitively say which is better, especially since most games have their merits.
However, it's certain that if Marathon launches as scheduled in March, it will siphon off a number of players who were originally focused solely on ARC Raiders, as the first-person perspective is undeniably appealing.
Many casual players have long hoped that ARC Raiders would add a dedicated PvE mode, or at least further enhance its PvE elements, but this hasn't happened yet.
If Marathon, based on player feedback after its testing phase, refines and enhances its PvE gameplay, ARC Raiders' sense of crisis will probably intensify.
However, ARC Raiders might also seize this opportunity to respond to players more quickly before Marathon's launch, striving to prevent this potentially powerful competitor from attracting too many players.
In any case, for you as a player, the emergence of more games not only means more choices but also that healthy competition will drive these games to improve, bringing you an ever-evolving gaming experience!
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