Arc Raiders' executive producer explains how he 'wasn't completely prepared for how hard' a live service game would be and warns against the dangers of burnout

Arc Raiders executive producer Aleksander Grøndal has spoken out about the challenges of transitioning to a live service game and the dangers of burnout. Grøndal admitted that Embark Studios overestimated the work they could handle, and transitioning to a live service model proved to be much harder than they anticipated. He explained that the team was mentally prepared for the difficulty, but not for how challenging it actually was.

Grøndal emphasized that building a game up to launch involves iterative testing and fixing, but live service games require constant updates and maintenance at a much faster pace. This high demand led to the team feeling extremely tired, and despite their best efforts to deliver content quickly, it wasn't enough and sometimes lacked interest.

As a result, players grew bored, leading to a significant drop in player numbers. Grøndal also noted the negative impact on the team's morale, with many feeling unhappy and burned out. He stressed the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and protecting employees from burnout, sharing a personal experience of being burned out himself.

Grøndal believes that the team's creativity and productivity can be better sustained by focusing on quality over quantity, and that they need more time to iterate and improve the game. Ultimately, he stresses that the well-being of the team and players should always come first, even if it means slower content releases.