‘We were constantly overshooting our capacity:’ Arc Raiders exec says success resulted in burnout
Arc Raiders, the free-to-play multiplayer action game from Swedish developer Embark Studios, has faced significant workforce challenges amid its commercial success. Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal revealed at Gamescom that the studio has struggled to balance the needs of over 16 million players with the wellbeing of its development team.
Grøndal acknowledged that the studio’s workforce is “super tired” following an intense initial push to launch and support the game. The core issue stems from the relentless demands of live service game development, where consistent content updates and feature rollouts are essential to retain players and maintain engagement.
“We were constantly overshooting our capacity,” Grøndal explained, highlighting how the studio repeatedly pushed beyond sustainable working levels to meet player expectations. The rapid growth and success of Arc Raiders, while commercially positive, created an unsustainable workload that manifested in severe burnout across the team.
The exec’s candid remarks underscore a broader industry challenge: the tension between maintaining vibrant, content-rich live service games and protecting developer mental and physical health. Studios must continuously innovate and update their games to keep millions of engaged players satisfied, but doing so without adequate staffing or realistic scheduling leads to exhausted teams.
Grøndal’s comments suggest Embark is grappling with these systemic pressures, acknowledging the human cost of live service success. The situation exemplifies ongoing industry discussions about crunch culture and the sustainability of live service development practices.