New Military Sim Makes ARC Raiders, Marathon, and Battlefield Look Bad

It’s no great secret that shooters are immensely popular, but the genre has morphed a bit since the early days of Halo and Medal of Honor. This is particularly true in the competitive scene, where games like ARC Raiders, which is much more focused on discovery, exploration, and stealth, manage to wipe the floor with traditional shooters like Call of Duty. This is a good thing: even if I don’t personally like extraction shooters as much as traditional ones, more diversity and experimentation within the online shooter scene makes for a more exciting, richer gaming landscape as a whole.

At the same time, shooters are more fickle than ever. With the live-service model, it’s not enough for these kinds of games to launch with a solid set of features and content; they have to maintain themselves and continue to hold the attention of their audience. Perhaps this is why, despite their immense initial success, both ARC Raiders and Battlefield 6 have seen major drop-offs in player counts, as the more transient members of their playerbase move on to other games. One such game is Gray Zone Warfare, a shooter that, despite still being in early access, has drawn a number of comparisons to the aforementioned titles, as well as Marathon and Escape from Tarkov. These comparisons have been generally favorable for Gray Zone Warfare, which is threatening to grow into a massive hit.

Marathon vs. ARC Raiders on Steam Player Count

Marathon is now here to bring ARC Raiders its first big competitor, and this is how each game’s Steam player count is shaping up.

What Is Gray Zone Warfare, the Early Access Shooter Sweeping Steam?

Gray Zone Warfare is set on a “Southeast Asian island” that’s been torn apart by civil warfare, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Gray Zone’s developer, MADFINGER Games, has been transparent about the game being inspired by Roadside Picnic, the same seminal sci-fi novel that inspired the likes of Metro 2033 and the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games. This adds an undeniable element of mystery to Gray Zone‘s world, as there’s always a deeper, more unsettling narrative underpinning its seemingly traditional military sim trappings.

And Gray Zone Warfare certainly does lean into its military sim roots, placing heavy emphasis on tactics, forethought, strategy, and teamwork. Gunplay is complex and weighty, healing is realistic and compartmentalized, and damage can result in persistent, noticeable changes, like a cavity left behind on a character model after being shot. These creative choices, coupled with Gray Zone Warfare’s lifelike graphics, have elicited comparisons to Escape from Tarkov, although it seems to have escaped many of the criticisms leveled against Tarkov, like poor optimization and bugginess.

Gray Zone Warfare’s PvE Options

One of the biggest complaints leveled against ARC Raiders relates to its lack of PvE options. Of course, this is not really a shortcoming of the game in the strictest sense, as developer Embark Studios has been clear that this is by design: ARC Raiders is meant to be competitive, and “forced” PvP has been deemed an essential part of this formula. But still, not every player appreciates the stress and pressure that comes along with PvP in an extraction shooter, where one well-placed shot from a more experienced player half a mile away can wipe out your last thirty minutes of progress.

Scratch & Peek

Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as
possible.

Scratch & Peek

Identify the cover art while scratching off as little foil as possible.

EasyMediumHardPermadeath

Gray Zone Warfare has PvP and PvPvE, but also an option for just PvE, solo or with a squad. This relatively minor option winds up having a significant impact on the Gray Zone experience as a whole, as players can essentially play it as a cooperative shooter if they wish. Not only is this great for new players still learning the ropes, but also for more established PvP players looking to take things down a gear. Again, Gray Zone Warfare is trying to tell a Roadside Picnic-inspired story, and a less sweaty, more relaxed PvE mode facilitates that. Best of all, there are no separate saves or characters for these modes: you can seamlessly alternate between PvP, PvE, and PvPvE without losing progress.

Gray Zone Warfare’s 0.4 Update Makes It Even Better

Gray Zone Warfare has been picking up steam since its release into early access in 2024, but the most recent patch has reignited interest in the game considerably. Launched on March 31, Update 0.4 introduces countless improvements to Gray Zone, with some of the most notable including:

Over 100 new Tasks and Contracts (quests)
Over 25 new locations
Improvements to lighting, visual effects, and UI
More lore to discover
Eight new weapons and over 150 new gear pieces

The game is still in early access, so it should go without saying that it’s not perfect. For instance, Gray Zone Warfare’s enemy AI is a bit lacking in the intelligence department, and quest design can be hit or miss. But the consensus is that Gray Zone is in a surprisingly terrific state so far, to the point where it’s already a suitable replacement for ARC Raiders, Marathon, Tarkov, and other leading extraction shooters/military sims. Hopefully, the game manages to keep this momentum heading into its 1.0 launch, whenever that may be.