The timer ticks down as you sprint towards extraction, rucksack full of gear. Enemy shots whiz past your head as you dive into the helicopter, escaping by the skin of your teeth. Your heart pounds with exhilaration.
This is the extraction shooter dream. If this adrenaline-fueled fantasy gets your heart pumping, 2024 could be your year.
Major players like Ubisoft and Bungie and indie developers are charging into the extraction shooter space, cooking up new titles like The Division Heartland, Exoborne and Project L.E.E.T. With Escape from Tarkov proving the genre’s hardcore formula works, others like Deep World’s Beautiful Light also look to put their own spin on things.
Project L.E.E.T – Bridging Hardcore and Casual
With Project L.E.E.T, developer Holmgard Games will be attempting to fuse hardcore and casual shooter fans.
Billed as an extraction shooter where elite mercenaries clash over alien artifacts, L.E.E.T combines PvE missions and PvP firefights. Players can expect realistic ballistics and health, smooth movement, cover reliance, in-depth customization, a persistent social hub, and plenty of pressurized skirmishes demanding tactical coordination.
By blending genres and gameplay approaches, Project L.E.E.T hopes to elevate extraction shooters when it hits PC this year. Whether you usually go solo or squad up with friends, this ambitious title aims to bridge hardcore and casual communities for white-knuckle cooperative and competitive action.
Beautiful Light – Extraction’s Darkest Edge
In Beautiful Light, players operate in teams of three to fight over dark alien artifacts in a terrifying science fiction world. The tactical first-person shooter emphasizes lethal PvPvP matches between six rival squads amid lethal anomalies. In other words – extremely challenging extraction shooter gameplay.
Developed by Deep Worlds SA, the PC exclusive aims to build an intensely immersive experience through spine-chilling environments and blood-soaked confrontations. RPG mechanics and progression let characters improve skills and gear between matches.
Deep Worlds intends to foster a strong community with frequent playtesting opportunities and open communication around continued development. If you plan on braving Beautiful Light’s uncompromising gameplay when it arrives via Steam, best get your extraction skills finely honed.
PUBGE Black Budget – Casualizing Hardcore Gameplay
Krafton, the studio behind the battle royale smash PUBG, is pivoting to extraction shooters with the mysterious Project Black Budget. Specifics remain unknown for this 2024 release, but the high stakes genre angles for tense firefights as operators infiltrate hostile territory, secure VIPs and equipment, and escape by the skin of their teeth.
While the setting and premise are still wrapped in shadow, artwork suggests Black Budget may adopt a special forces theme. And with industry juggernaut Krafton at the helm, expectations run high for polished and innovative extraction shooter mechanics when Black Budget deploys later this year.
Gray Zone Warfare – Mercenary Realism
For a fresh extraction shooter perspective, keep watch on Gray Zone Warfare. This ambitious indie PC project by MADFINGER Games lands players in a fictional former British colony after a puzzling disaster.
As a mercenary, you’ll explore dense forests and abandoned towns tackling FPS objectives alone or in squads. But the real draw lies in unpeeling mysteries behind the cryptic event.
With shadowy PMC factions holding secrets and moral quandaries around every corner, Gray Zone Warfare promises an intriguing storyline shrouding tactical gameplay. By supporting early access in 2024, you can witness firsthand how this passionate team translates their FPS vision into an immersive world packing plenty of twists yet to unravel.
Exoborne – Nature’s Wrath
The ravaged world of Exoborne inflicts a double dose of danger – warring factions and extreme weather collide. This ambitious open-world extraction shooter from developer Sharkmob transports players to an apocalyptic U.S. where tornadoes, lightning storms, and other natural cataclysms transform landscapes in real-time.
You’ll need to master scavenging, crafting, and tactical teamwork to haul precious loads out of this dynamic environment alive. With nature itself as a lethal unpredictable opponent, Exoborne promises a unique blend of PvE and PvP challenges when it hits PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
The Division Heartland – Small Town Survival
If you’re looking for an extraction shooter with a rural twist, set your sights on Tom Clancy’s The Division Heartland in 2024.
Ubisoft relocates its squad-based survival formula to struggling small town Silver Creek, where a lone Division unit represents the last hope against unknown catastrophes. You’ll tackle mysteries, rival squads, and deadly contamination pressing from all sides.
With six specialized agent classes and plenty of ominous environments to explore, The Division Heartland offers a change of pace from the series’ urban locales while retaining the tactical coop action fans love.
ARC Raiders – Mechanized Onslaught
From the minds behind Battlefield, ARC Raiders delivers free-to-play third-person extraction shooter action in a future Earth ravaged by robotic ARC invaders.
As a Raider scavenging for precious resources in colony Speranza, you’ll need to fend off lethal ARC machines and untrustworthy human competitors alike. With minimal rules and high stakes battles to fuel an ever-shifting landscape, the team at Embark Studios (comprised of former EA DICE, Activision and Avalanche Studios talent) aims to keep tension high. The game’s aesthetics seem to be inspired from late 70s/early 80s sci fi, with a distinct Buck Rodgers vibe.
Though details remain scarce on exact progression systems and content plans, the emphasis on white-knuckle PvPvE skirmishes sets the stage for heart-pounding fun when ARC Raiders launches this year.
Marathon – A Blast from the Past?
Bungie, creators of mega-hits Halo and Destiny, are returning to their roots by rebooting the classic 1990s shooter Marathon as a new extraction game.
The story promises high stakes raids on a lost human colony menaced by a mysterious ghost ship. Players step in as “runners” who leverage cloning tech to shift between synthetic and mortal bodies during missions.
Core gameplay focuses on PvP extraction operations in unpredictable alien environments with evolving layouts and objectives. The goal is to secure precious resources and return safely, gaining fame and riches if successful.
While concrete details are still under wraps, Bungie’s legacy pioneering the FPS genre sets high expectations for Marathon’s extraction shooter mechanics and sci-fi worldbuilding. The awaited reboot is slated to hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC with cross-platform continuity. After years dominating as a looter-shooter studio, it will be interesting to see if Bungie can make a triumphant return to extraction shooter glory.
The Escape from Tarkov Effect
It remains to be seen whether these extraction shooters can capture Escape From Tarkov’s magic.
With innovations spanning free-to-play, rural locales, ’90s reboots and nightmarish sci-fi settings, players have an exciting variety of extraction attempts to test their skills against next year. So prepare yourself for white-knuckle, high risk operations in hostile territory when these offerings hit PC and consoles.
