Apparently there were a lot of fans of the PvPvE extraction shooter ARC Raiders who were banking on a countdown timer to June 6th as a countdown to release instead of the Summer Game Fest trailer debut it ended up heralding instead. This has, in turn, brought forth Embark Studios to step forward and apologize for the PR move, as first noted by Heartless Gamer.
“In the lead-up to the ARC Raiders date reveal, we put out a countdown to June 6. This gave the false impression that we would be shadow dropping the game. The frustration and disappointment that followed is 100% our fault. We mismanaged the hype, we misread the situation, and we’re so sorry that this led to disappointment. […] Thank you for holding us to a high standard. We intend to meet it.”
Reaction to the apology seems to have kicked off some discussion about player expectations when it comes to a countdown timer, with some fans saying that gamers were being petulant and others arguing that a countdown timer was just a bad idea. Otherwise most fans appear to be deeply appreciative of the statement.
In the meantime, Embark says that it is heads-down to build the game and meet player expectations for its October release, with the promise of progress reports and other comms all along the way. “We know that games live and die by polish and quality, balance, and long-term fun,” the announcement explains.
