Embark Studios
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | September 20, 2018 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | |
| Products | |
Number of employees |
|
| Parent | Nexon Co., Ltd. |
| Website | www |
Embark Studios AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Stockholm and founded in 2018. Its founders include former DICE employees Magnus Nordin, Rob Runesson, Stefan Strandberg, Patrick Söderlund, Jenny Huldschiner and Johan Andersson.[1] Embark is a subsidiary of the South Korean video game publisher Nexon since 2021. The company is most known for developing The Finals and ARC Raiders.
History
[edit]Embark Studios was founded in November 2018 by Patrick Söderlund, the former CEO of DICE and Chief Design Officer at Electronic Arts.[2] Söderlund left DICE in August the same year, after nearly two decades with the company, where he had been a key figure in the development and direction of franchises such as Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront and Mirrors Edge.[3] The studio was established in Stockholm with a small team, many of whom also had backgrounds at DICE. The studio placed emphasis on procedural content, player collaboration, and emerging tools such as machine learning and cloud computing.[4][5] In late 2018, shortly after the company was formed, South Korean publisher Nexon became the majority stakeholder in Embark controlling a stake of 66.1% in the company.[6] In 2021, Nexon completed the full acquisition of Embark Studios, integrating it as a subsidiary while allowing it to operate with a degree of autonomy.[7]
By 2019, the team had grown to around 50 people.[8] Söderlund shared the details of the studio's first project in February 2019, revealing that it will be a free-to-play cooperative action game.[9] The game was officially revealed in 2021 as ARC Raiders. However, the development of another project, The Finals (codenamed Project Discovery at the time), progressed faster than ARC Raiders, prompting the team to release that project first. The Finals, a first-person shooter with a heavy emphasis on destructible environment, was released in December 2023.[10] As a free-to-play game, it attracted more than 10 million players in its first two weeks of release.[11] ARC Raiders were subsequently redesigned as a PvPvE extraction shooter and released in October 2025 as a paid game. It was a commercial success, with the game selling more than 4 million copies and reaching 700,000 concurrent players on Steam. Its release also marked the biggest launch for a Nexon video game.[12] While both games received generally positive reviews, Embark Studios faced criticism over its use of Text-to-Speech voiceovers.[13][14]
The studio is currently developing two unannounced projects.[11]
Headquarters
[edit]The studio headquarters began in an old bank building called Södra Bankohuset which was built in the 17th century for the Swedish central bank.[15] In August 2020 the studio moved to a new location called Bankpalatset approximately 1km from the first location.[16] The interior of their current studio was designed by the studio themselves using Blender in collaboration with architects.[17]
Games developed
[edit]| Year | Title | Platform |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Finals | Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S |
| 2025 | ARC Raiders | Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S |
References
[edit]- ^ Lundegårdh, Peter (2018-11-08). "EA-stjärnan Patrick Söderlund startar ny speljätte i Stockholm". Dagens industri (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Grubb, Jeff (2016-09-14). "Electronic Arts creates Worldwide Studios division and hands rising star Patrick Söderlund the keys". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (2018-08-14). "EA exec Patrick Soderlund is leaving the company". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ "Embark Studios' THE FINALS Begins a Global Closed-Beta Test March 7". Business Wire. 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2025-02-23.
- ^ Naavik (2024-03-07). "Embark: A Technology-First Studio". Naavik. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Russell, Jon (2019-07-01). "Nexon takes control of emerging game studio Embark via a $96M investment". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ "Embark Studios' ARC Raiders is Coming in 2025". NEXON Corporate Communications. 2024-08-21. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Valentine, Rebekah (2019-02-20). "Embark Studios grows to over 50 people, working on first title". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (February 20, 2019). "Ex-EA exec Patrick Söderlund shares glimpse at new project". Eurogamer. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ S. Good, Owen (September 27, 2022). "In The Finals, a new squad shooter from Battlefield alumni, everything is destructible". Polygon. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ a b McCrae, Scott (October 30, 2025). "The Finals is still going strong and Arc Raiders is about to release, but Embark Studios has two other projects it hasn't even announced yet: "One of the concepts we have has a lot more edge to it"". GamesRadar. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ Chalk, Andy (November 12, 2025). "Arc Raiders sells 4 million copies, making it 'the most successful global launch in Nexon's history'". PC Gamer. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ Dinsdale, Ryan (2023-10-31). "Embark Responds to The Finals AI Criticism: 'Making Games Without Actors Isn't an End Goal'". IGN. Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ MacDonald, Keza (November 19, 2025). "How generative AI in Arc Raiders started a scrap over the gaming industry's future". The Guardian. Retrieved November 22, 2025.
- ^ "Nya spelplaner i Södra Bankohuset" (PDF). Tidningen Kulturvärden Nr 4, Statens fastighetsverk (in Swedish). 2018. p. 18. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
- ^ Wallin, Philip (2019-11-29). "Embark Studios med dubbel hyra efter flytt | Fastighetsvärlden". www.fastighetsvarlden.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-05-18.
- ^ Rydin, Stefan (2021). "Embark Studios En game changer". Tengbom (in Swedish). Retrieved 2025-05-18.