Arc Raiders, the extraction shooter that might finally bring the genre to the masses, is holding a new playtest at the end of April

The extraction shooter discourse has been dominated in recent days by Marathon, Bungie’s upcoming kick at the can, but there’s another game in the mix with the potential to steal its thunder: Arc Raiders, which PC Gamer’s Jake Tucker said in 2024 “could be the extraction shooter that finally brings the genre to the masses.”

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but we’ll all move one step closer to figuring it out on April 30, which will mark the kickoff of a new Arc Raiders tech test, its largest playtest thus far.

To get into the test, you’ll have to request access on Steam or, if you’re on console or want to use the Epic Games Store, at arcraiders.com. You’ll be notified via email if you’re granted access, unless you were in the previous Arc Raiders playtest on Steam, in which case you’re in automatically but won’t get any notification about it.

Developer Embark Studios said access to the tech test will be granted randomly, and invitations will be shared throughout the test so even if you don’t get in on the first day, you might be asked to join later. This will also be the first Arc Raiders test that isn’t confidential, so testers can stream it, talk about it, post about it on social media or wherever: It’s still a work in progress but here will be “many tweaks, changes, and additions before launch,” but Embark is clearly confident enough in what it’s got that it’s ready to give us all a look.

And maybe—hopefully—there’s good reason for that. Our man Jake spent a few hours with that earlier closed beta and came away suitably impressed, declaring “Arc Raiders could be something very special indeed, a more accessible extraction shooter with a friendlier aesthetic that can still deliver the pulse-pounding spectacle Tarkov players crave.” A release date hasn’t been set but it’s expected to be out sometime in 2025.