Marathon Changes Course, Arc Raiders Tests PvE, Armed Fantasia Ends
Bungie is changing Marathon’s direction as it tries to broaden the struggling shooter’s appeal, while Embark prepares an opt-in PvE test for Arc Raiders . The past 24 hours also bring two hard stops: Build a Rocket Boy has entered administration, and 505 Games’ parent company has cancelled Armed Fantasia
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Bungie Plans to Take Marathon Beyond Extraction
Marathon launched in March 2026 as a PvEvP extraction shooter, but Bungie now says the game will grow beyond that format as its player slump continues . The studio wants to preserve the winner-takes-all PvEvP experience for players who enjoy it while adding options with different levels of intensity and commitment
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The planned expansion includes a social hub and a new Perimeter area described as fungus-filled. Bungie says the new modes are intended to make Marathon more approachable without abandoning its existing extraction gameplay .
Arc Raiders Will Test an Opt-In PvE Mode in October
Embark Studios will test an opt-in PvE mode in Arc Raiders from October 13 through October 20, allowing players to enter matches where human players cannot damage one another while the game’s machines remain dangerous . Players will be able to switch between the traditional PvEvP experience and the safer test environment through a matchmaking toggle
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Embark says the test responds to a “large and growing” group of players who do not want to hunt other raiders. The change gives Arc Raiders a way to support cooperative play without removing its existing player-versus-player format .
MindsEye Developer Build a Rocket Boy Enters Administration
Build a Rocket Boy, the developer behind the poorly received 2025 shooter MindsEye, has appointed administrators following another wave of layoffs . Reports of further job cuts emerged the previous week, before the studio formally entered administration
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Wild Arms Spiritual Successor Armed Fantasia Is Cancelled
Armed Fantasia, the Wild Arms spiritual successor led by former series producer Akifumi Kaneko, has been cancelled four years after a successful Kickstarter campaign . Digital Bros, the parent company of publisher 505 Games, says development ended after multiple attempts to revise the gameplay and a broader review of the project
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The same decision also cancels Directorate: Novitiate and a sequel to the free-to-play strategy game Battle Islands .
Unicorn Overlord Director Announces 2028 Action RPG DAWNGAZER
Takafumi Noma, the director of Unicorn Overlord, has announced DAWNGAZER, a new action RPG planned for PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC in 2028 . The game is the debut project from Noma’s new studio Monochrome Corporation and the first release in the original IGNISPHERE fantasy IP from publisher Good Smile Company
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IGNISPHERE is planned as a cross-media property, with light novels among the formats under consideration alongside the game .