Chris Sides worked at Bungie for over four years as Director of Product Management on Marathon, the studio’s upcoming sci-fi shooter. During that time, he became increasingly frustrated with one particular aspect of his job that had nothing to do with gameplay mechanics or design philosophy. He hated the term extraction shooter with a passion, and he spent years trying to convince marketing to create an entirely different genre name. Spoiler alert – he failed.
The Problem With Extraction Shooters
Speaking on the Shooter Monthly podcast in November 2025, Sides explained his fundamental issue with the extraction shooter label. The genre name is so bad, he stated bluntly. I hate the genre name of extraction shooter. When I was working on Marathon, I was working with marketing, dying to be like, ‘Can we please create a different genre name,’ because extraction shooter is so dumb.
His core complaint centers on specificity. Extraction shooter is the only genre where its name is a mechanic, Sides argued. Think about it for a second. We don’t call first-person shooters trigger pullers or battle royales last man standers. Racing games aren’t called steering wheel turners. Yet somehow, an entire genre of tactical, high-stakes PvPvE games gets reduced to one single gameplay element – the act of extracting from the map with your loot.
This creates confusion for players trying to understand what they’re actually getting. Sides used Helldivers 2 as his primary example. So, you call Helldivers 2, is that an extraction shooter because you extract? No, it’s not like Tarkov at all, he explained. The terminology of the genre is already terrible; it really makes it hard to compare these games.
Comparing Apples to Grenades
The extraction shooter umbrella covers games with wildly different tones, pacing, and mechanics. Arena Breakout and Escape from Tarkov can be reasonably compared because they fit the same mold – hardcore tactical shooters with punishing death penalties, realistic weapon handling, and intense risk-reward loops. Both emphasize careful planning, map knowledge, and strategic looting before attempting extraction.
But then you have Arc Raiders, which features third-person perspectives, cartoony graphics, robot enemies, and approachable progression systems. Comparing Arc Raiders to Tarkov just doesn’t really fit, Sides noted. Comparing Arc Raiders to maybe like Rust could fit, and then, Rust, is that an extraction? Because it’s survival.
The Genre Identity Crisis
Sides believes the naming problem reflects a deeper issue – the genre itself doesn’t know what it wants to be yet. I think it’s really the fact that the genre doesn’t even know what it is. You, as a player, how do you know what you’re going to get? And I think that’s one of the real issues with the genre itself.
He has a point. Extraction shooters span an enormous spectrum. Hunt Showdown focuses on asymmetric PvPvE engagements in gothic horror settings. The Cycle Frontier (before it shut down) offered a more accessible, colorful sci-fi take on the formula. Marathon is hero-based with distinct character abilities, while most extraction games feature classless customizable loadouts. Some emphasize survival mechanics, others focus purely on combat and extraction speed.
The confusion extends to players forming expectations. Someone who loves Escape from Tarkov’s methodical, realistic approach might download Arc Raiders expecting something similar and discover a completely different experience. The extraction shooter label tells you almost nothing about tone, pacing, complexity, or even core gameplay beyond you enter a map, you loot stuff, and you try to leave.
Arc Raiders Changes Everything
While Sides was working on Marathon and fighting with marketing over terminology, Embark Studios was quietly developing Arc Raiders. The game held closed alpha tests in early 2025 that directly overlapped with Marathon’s own testing period, creating what some called a great A/B test for comparing different approaches to the extraction genre.
Arc Raiders launched in October 2025 and absolutely crushed expectations. The game peaked at 462,488 concurrent players on Steam just a week after release, setting an all-time high record that remains rare for any game, let alone one in a niche genre. The success signals strong interest in extraction-style gameplay when executed well and marketed effectively.
For Marathon, Arc Raiders represents both validation and competition. It proves the market exists for extraction games beyond Escape from Tarkov’s hardcore audience. But it also means Marathon will launch into a space already occupied by a popular, well-received title rather than being the first major studio attempt to crack the genre.
Marathon’s Delayed Destiny
Sides left Bungie in July 2024 after working on Marathon from June 2020 through the project’s early development phases. He departed shortly before Bungie announced Marathon’s indefinite delay from its planned September 2024 release window. The game is now scheduled for March 2026, though Bungie has remained relatively quiet about specific features or gameplay details.
Marathon faced its own controversies throughout 2025. An alpha playtest in April received mixed reactions from participants. Shortly after, Bungie discovered it had used an independent artist’s work in Marathon without proper authorization or credit, forcing the studio to issue an apology and conduct a full asset audit. The negative publicity didn’t help a game already struggling to differentiate itself in an increasingly crowded space.
Bungie conducted NDA-protected closed technical tests in late October 2025, with participants reporting significant changes and improvements since the April alpha. The studio promises to share official updates or developer blogs in the coming weeks or months as the March 2026 target approaches.
Why Genre Names Matter
On the surface, arguing about genre terminology seems petty. Does it really matter what we call these games as long as they’re fun? According to Sides, yes – it matters a lot for marketing, player expectations, and even game design decisions.
Genre labels help players quickly understand what type of experience they’re purchasing. Battle royale immediately conveys 100 players, last person standing, shrinking map boundaries. Roguelike tells players to expect permadeath, procedural generation, and run-based progression. Metroidvania signals interconnected maps with ability-gated exploration.
Extraction shooter tells players almost nothing useful except that extraction exists as a mechanic. It doesn’t indicate tone, difficulty, perspective, setting, or even whether the game emphasizes PvP combat or PvE survival. The term bundles together games with vastly different appeal to vastly different audiences, which makes it harder for players to discover games they’ll actually enjoy.
What’s the Alternative?
Sides never revealed what genre name he pitched to Bungie’s marketing team during his time working on Marathon. The podcast didn’t press him for specifics, and he may have been bound by NDAs preventing him from sharing too many details about internal discussions.
The broader industry hasn’t coalesced around an alternative either. Some developers call their games looter shooters, but that term already applies to games like Destiny 2 and The Division. Tactical survival shooter works for hardcore entries like Tarkov but doesn’t fit more approachable games like Arc Raiders. PvPvE shooter is accurate but bland and doesn’t distinguish the genre from dozens of other multiplayer games.
Maybe the genre needs multiple sub-categories rather than a single umbrella term. Hardcore tactical extraction for Tarkov-style games, hero extraction for character-based entries like Marathon, and survival extraction for titles emphasizing base building and long-term progression like Rust. This would help players set appropriate expectations while allowing developers to target specific audiences.
The Genre’s Growing Pains
Extraction games represent one of gaming’s fastest-growing genres despite remaining relatively niche compared to battle royales or traditional shooters. Escape from Tarkov has maintained a dedicated player base for years without ever technically launching (it’s still in beta as of 2025). Hunt Showdown carved out its own audience with unique gothic horror aesthetics and tense gunfights.
Now major studios are throwing their hats in the ring. Bungie with Marathon. Embark Studios with Arc Raiders. EA reportedly has an extraction game in development. The genre’s evolution from hardcore niche to mainstream contender means it needs clearer identity markers to help both developers and players understand what makes each game special.
Sides’ frustration with the extraction shooter label reflects genuine concerns about how confusing terminology hampers the genre’s growth. When players can’t easily understand what differentiates one extraction game from another, they default to playing what they already know rather than experimenting with new entries. That hurts innovation and makes it harder for new games to find audiences.
FAQs
Who is Chris Sides?
Chris Sides served as Director of Product Management at Bungie from June 2020 to July 2024, working specifically on the early development of Marathon. He left Bungie shortly before the game’s indefinite delay was announced.
What is an extraction shooter?
Extraction shooters are multiplayer games where players enter maps, gather loot and resources, then attempt to extract to a safe zone before dying. Death typically results in losing collected items. Popular examples include Escape from Tarkov, Hunt Showdown, and the recently released Arc Raiders.
When does Marathon release?
Marathon is currently scheduled to launch in March 2026 after being delayed indefinitely from its original September 2024 release window. Bungie conducted closed technical tests in October 2025 and promises more information soon.
What makes Marathon different from other extraction shooters?
Marathon uses a hero-based system with distinct characters and abilities, similar to Overwatch or Apex Legends, rather than the classless customizable loadouts found in most extraction games. It maintains Bungie’s signature first-person perspective and sci-fi aesthetics.
How successful was Arc Raiders?
Arc Raiders peaked at 462,488 concurrent players on Steam within a week of its October 2025 launch, setting an all-time high record. The game’s success demonstrated strong market interest in accessible extraction shooters beyond hardcore entries like Escape from Tarkov.
Why did Chris Sides leave Bungie?
Sides left Bungie in July 2024 during the studio’s massive restructuring that included laying off 220 employees and reassigning 155 others to different PlayStation Studios. The layoffs followed Destiny 2’s underperformance and concerns about Marathon’s development progress.
Is Helldivers 2 an extraction shooter?
Technically yes, since players extract from missions, but it plays nothing like traditional extraction shooters such as Escape from Tarkov. This illustrates Chris Sides’ point about the genre label being confusing and overly broad.
What other games fall under the extraction shooter category?
Major extraction shooters include Escape from Tarkov, Hunt Showdown, The Cycle Frontier (shut down), Arena Breakout, Arc Raiders, and the upcoming Marathon. Some people also categorize survival games like Rust and DayZ as extraction adjacent.
Did Bungie ever consider changing how they label Marathon?
According to Chris Sides, he actively pushed Bungie’s marketing team to create a different genre name for Marathon, but the company has continued describing it as an extraction shooter in all official communications and marketing materials.
Conclusion
Chris Sides’ frustration with the extraction shooter label highlights a legitimate problem facing an emerging genre. When a single term encompasses everything from hardcore tactical simulators to approachable hero shooters, it loses meaningful descriptive power. Players can’t form accurate expectations, developers struggle to differentiate their games, and the genre itself suffers from an identity crisis.
Whether the industry eventually settles on better terminology remains to be seen. For now, extraction shooter is the label that stuck, regardless of how many product directors and marketing teams fought against it. As games like Arc Raiders prove the genre can achieve mainstream success and titles like Marathon prepare to enter the space, perhaps clearer sub-categories will emerge naturally. Until then, players shopping for extraction games need to dig deeper than genre labels to understand what they’re actually buying. And former Bungie directors will continue complaining about terminology on podcasts, knowing they tried and failed to fix it from the inside.