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Articles by Patrick Söderlund
ARC Raiders, The Finals Are the Next Games Set for TV and Movie Adaptations | Push Square
Embark Studios, the team behind popular shooters The Finals and ARC Raiders, have confirmed both games are being adapted for the screen. As reported by Variety, the Nexon-owned studio is teaming up with production company Chernin Entertainment to bring the two titles into the realm of TV and film.
Arc Raiders and The Finals are getting TV series and film adaptations
Embark Studios' Arc Raiders and The Finals are both being adapted for TV and film. According to Variety, the projects have been set up with Chernin Entertainment, the film and TV division of The North Road Company, which was selected from several production companies and studios competing for the rights. It will serve as the lead producer on the TV series and movies for both games.
Arc Raiders wins Nordic Game of the Year at the Nordic Game Awards
Arc Raiders has won Nordic Game of the Year at the Nordic Game Awards, which took place on May 28 at the Nordic Game conference in Malmö, Sweden. The other nominees for the category were Battlefield 6, Dune: Awakening, Split Fiction, and My Winter Car. Embark Studios' extraction shooter also won the awards for best technology and best audio. Split Fiction was nominated for four awards, but only took home one, for Best Game Design.
Arc Raiders, The Finals Dev Embark Studios Parts Ways With Co-founder Following Misconduct Allegations
Embark Studios, the dev behind Arc Raiders and The Finals has "mutually agreed to part ways" with co-founder and CCO Rob Runesson following public allegations that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a popular The Finals streamer, as well as an external legal investigation that Embark claims "did not substantiate" the allegations. These allegations, shared by an anonymous person, first arose around a month ago via The Finals streamer Balise who read them on stream.
Embark "mutually parts ways" with co-founder Rob Runesson following sexual misconduct allegations
Arc Raiders and The Finals dev Embark Studios has "mutually agreed to part ways" with co-founder and CCO Rob Runesson after allegations of sexual misconduct.
Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund Praises Bungie for Quickly Addressing Marathon's Early Playtest Feedback
Patrick Söderlund, CEO of Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios, is praising Bungie after the Marathon team managed to effectively address playtest feedback “in a very short period of time.” The studio executive further extinguished the extraction shooter beef during an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. In between questions about the development of Arc Raiders, he gave his thoughts on Marathon, Bungie's competing experience that launched March 5.
'Some' Arc Raiders AI Voice Lines Were Re-Recorded by Real Human Post-Launch, Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund Confirms
Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund says Arc Raiders now contains fewer AI voice lines than it did at launch after the team re-recorded some lines with real actors. Söderlund offered an update on the studio's views regarding artificial intelligence during an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. Among various updates that have brought new enemies, cosmetics, locations, and more, he says the team has already replaced some of its heavily criticized AI content with performances from real human beings.
Embark Studios head Patrick Söderlund explains how Arc Raiders was made on "a quarter of the budget" of a AAA title
What makes a AAA studio? Is it the size of the team? The scope? The budget? Sweden's Embark Studios – founded in 2018 by CEO Patrick Söderlund and some fellow former staff from Battlefield developer DICE – is not a big company, at least compared to other companies in the space. Even now, coming up to seven-and-a-half-years into its life, the firm only boasts around 360 members of staff working across multiple projects.
Embark Shows Off Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky Update With First Look at Two New Threats...and Beards
Embark Studios has laid out everything included in the Arc Raiders Shrouded Sky update, revealing a first look at two new Arc threats, the Surgeon Raider Deck, Dam Battleground map changes, and, yeah, you guessed it: beards. Information about the big February update was unveiled in a blog post published on its official website.
Nexon appoints Patrick Söderlund as new executive chairman to "accelerate global strategy, transform creative direction, and lead the next phase"
Nexon has appointed Patrick Söderlund as its new executive chairman to "accelerate global strategy, transform creative direction, and lead the next phase of growth." Söderlund – who's currently CEO at Arc Raiders' Embark Studios and had a long career at EA and DICE before that – said via his LinkedIn update that role will see him leading "a company-wide strategic transformation spanning portfolio strategy, M&A, and organizational development." Söderlund already had a place on Nexon's board...
The Big Arc Raiders Interview: Embark Boss Patrick Söderlund Talks Live-Service Plans, Banning Cheaters, and the Secret Sauce of PvE
Arc Raiders, an extraction shooter and the second game from developer Embark Studios, has taken the world by storm. This sci-fi, third-person PvPvE experiment launched with little more than a $40 price tag and an enticing premise back in October and almost immediately established itself as one of the biggest games of 2025 – and maybe even 2026.
Huge Success of Arc Raiders Gives Embark 'Financial Security and Employment Stability,' $75 Million Budget Estimate 'Not Too Far Off'
Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund says the success of Arc Raiders has given the team “stability [and] long-term security” as it continues to support its new extraction shooter through 2026. The studio head opened up about how the developer has changed for the better as part of a recent interview with IGN.
RuneScape maker Jagex says it will never use generative AI to make in-game content
UK-based developer Jagex has said players will never encounter content created using AI within its games. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, the company's SVP of product, James Dobrowski, said that it has a "pretty hard line stance" on the matter, saying that it does not want to be using the tech to "drive creativity". The executive did say that Jagex is open to using AI, but in areas that players will not see, such as tasks like "tooling efficiency".
Arc Raiders Now a Huge Multiplayer Success Story at 12 Million Sales | Push Square
While other live service efforts wilt, Embark Studios has proved there is still room for significant success in the online multiplayer games sector, as ARC Raiders has now sold more than 12.4 million copies since its October 2025 launch. A report from Business Wire reveals the game reached 10 million sales at the end of 2025, and in the past few weeks, sales have spiked as a result of sales promotions across consoles and PC.
Arc Raiders Keeps on Going as It Tops 12.4 Million Copies Sold, Gifts All Players a Gilded Pickaxe
Arc Raiders has sold an incredible 12.4 million copies in just 10 weeks, publisher Nexon has announced. And to celebrate, developer Embark Studios is giving all players a free in-game gift. Embark Studios' enormously popular extraction shooter has seen impressive staying power, too, setting a new concurrent player peak of 960,000 in January 2026.
Arc Raiders has sold 2.4m copies in 2026 so far
Extraction shooter Arc Raiders has sold over 2.4 million copies in 2026 to date. That's according to the parent company of developer Embark Studios, Nexon, who told investors that the title has sold a total of 12.4 million copies to date. The company added that the shooter had shifted 10 million units by the end of December 2025. Furthermore, Arc Raiders has hit a peak of 960,000 concurrent users in January.
Embark Studios doesn't want to "open the floodgates" on AI, but the recent backlash hasn't "changed its outlook," either
Embark Studios is seemingly unfazed by the recent backlash about its use of AI in the development of Arc Raiders, saying it doesn't want to "open the floodgates" on AI, but neither has the recent feedback "changed [its] outlook," either.
ARC Raiders Is a $40 Game Partly Because of Helldivers 2 | Push Square
While many of the most popular games these days are free-to-play, there's still plenty of room to find success with a premium release model, and ARC Raiders is a prime example. It was initially planned to be a free game, but switched to a traditional launch with a price tag, and has been hugely popular regardless. Speaking in an interview with GamesBeat, Embark Studios founder Patrick Söderlund explains the rationale behind the game's $40 price point.
Embark Thinks It 'Should Do a Lot More' With Trading in Arc Raiders, But Players Aren't Sold
Embark Studios says it ‘should do a lot more’ with trading in Arc Raiders, but some players are worried about how a potential in-game market might affect the experience. CEO Patrick Söderlund expressed interest in a more robust trade feature for the popular extraction shooter during a recent interview with GamesBeat.
'The Game Isn't About Shooting Other Players' - Arc Raiders Dev Explains Why It Won't Add Additional PvP Mechanics Like Leaderboards
Amid the debate about Arc Raiders players who focus on the PvP aspect of the game and little else, the boss of Embark Studios has made the developer’s position clear: this is not a game about killing other players, and it doesn’t want to “foster” that type of gameplay.
The Arc Raiders Movie and TV Show Offers Are Already Coming In, and the Boss of Embark Studios Sounds Up for It
If you've been wondering if TV executives have spotted Arc Raiders' rip-roaring success, wonder no more — "many" have already reached out to the development team to discuss making a TV series or movie. While Embark boss Patrick Söderlund was coy about the details, he did admit that numerous companies had been in touch in hopes of making a movie or show about "this IP," adding that Arc Raiders "fits quite well" for a game-to-TV adaptation.
Embark boss insists studio isn't using AI to replace people in Arc Raiders development
The CEO and founder of Swedish developer Embark Studios, Patrick Söderlund, has said that the company is not using AI as a means of reducing its investment in people. Speaking to GamesBeat, the executive insisted that games is a "people industry" amid criticism for the firm's use of artificial intelligence within its suite of releases, most recently the highly popular extraction shooter, Arc Raiders.
Yes, Arc Raiders does matchmake you based on how friendly or aggressive you are
Arc Raiders matchmaking has been a bit of a mystery since launch, with many wondering whether a player's tendency towards PvP action would pair them with like-minded players when matchmaking. This is indeed the case, as revealed by Patrick Söderlund, CEO of Embark Studios during a gameplay presentation and interview with GamesBeat. During the playthrough, GamesBeat's Dean Takahashi touches upon the matchmaking systems in Arc Raiders, referring to aggression-based matchmaking.
Arc Raiders Dev Confirms It Recently Added Aggression-Based Matchmaking, but 'It's Not a Full Science'
Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios has confirmed one of the community’s biggest questions since the game came out: it does indeed feature ‘aggression-based matchmaking.’ This means that if you’re big into PvP, you’ll be matched up with players who are like-minded. Similarly, if you prefer PvE, you’ll be matchmade with players who tend to avoid conflict with other players.
Embark says moving from free-to-play made designing Arc Raiders "drastically easier"
Swedish developer Embark Studios has said that moving away from free-to-play in favour of a premium business model made the games "drastically easier" to design in some ways. In a new episode of the company's ongoing 'The Evolution of Arc Raiders' behind-the-scenes video series, the firm discussed how it struggled to find the right balance between risk and reward in the extraction shooter genre.
Embark - our continued journey
This has been a special year, to say the least. As individuals and as a collective, the global pandemic has required us to adapt. While it hasn’t always been easy, I’ve been so impressed to see our teams adjusting and keep having fun despite the circumstances. We’re continuing to work on the things we have set out to do, and the studio keeps growing (we’re now close to 200 people). What’s more, the importance of games as a medium has never been more palpable.
An update from Embark – Embark Studios – Medium
Some three months have passed since we started Embark, and things around here are taking form. We’ve read through thousands of applications, hired over 50 people, moved into our own house in the heart of Stockholm’s Old Town, and begun building what looks to become our first game. So I thought now’s as good a time as any to share an update on why we started this venture. I want to let you in on some decisions we’ve made, and give you a glimpse into our progress so far.
Announcing EA Originals
By Patrick Söderlund, Executive Vice President of EA Studios Today at EA PLAY, I was proud to announce EA Originals, and provide a first look at an amazing new game that we will bring to all of you. Last year when we first saw Unravel™ and started working with the passionate team at Coldwood in Sweden, we saw a game that we knew deserved the world’s attention. It deserved to be played.
Introducing Anthem™
Today we unveiled Anthem, EA’s newest IP. Our team at BioWare hand-crafted an entire new world, and equally as important, an entirely new experience. This isn’t like any BioWare game you’ve played before – in fact, it’s unlike any game we’ve ever made at EA. As a player, there’s nothing quite like thrill of discovering new games and experiences. It’s why I have always loved playing games, and why I try to play everything.
The Force is Strong with EA
At EA right now, we have multiple studios building a variety of great Star Wars games spanning different genres. We are all united by our teams’ passion for Star Wars™ stories, characters, and adventures. Today, I’m thrilled to be able to announce that EA and the talented team at Respawn Entertainment have expanded our relationship to include the development of an all-new 3rd person action adventure game set in the Star Wars universe.
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