The shooter space is currently navigating a complex landscape. As studios and publishers rush to capitalize on the live-service trend, the market has become saturated with multiplayer games that experience both remarkable successes and significant failures. For players, discerning quality from mediocrity has never been easier, yet for developers, the challenge of standing out amidst the cacophony has become increasingly daunting.
Insights from Nomion Games
Dmitri Ogorodnikov, co-head of Nomion Games, understands this challenge all too well. After departing from Battlestate Games, the studio behind the popular Escape From Tarkov, he was acutely aware that their inaugural title, Rush is Real, needed to avoid the pitfalls that have beset other recent projects like Concord and Highguard. In a conversation with PCGamesN, Ogorodnikov emphasized the importance of acknowledging the complexities involved in creating a successful shooter today.
“Looking at cases like Concord and many others, respecting the complexity of the task is crucial,” he stated. “Creating a shooter—or any game—that truly breaks through today is a statistical anomaly. Sorry for the drama, but we realize we’re entering an arena where the bones of dominant giants mix with the wreckage of ambitious newcomers. No amount of millions of dollars in marketing can save a weak product; there are plenty of examples.”
The shortcomings of Concord serve as a cautionary tale. Firewalk’s hero shooter featured a lackluster cast of characters, relying on outdated tropes that ultimately failed to resonate with players. Despite its cinematic cutscenes, the game fell short of expectations. Some attributed its failure to a decline in the subgenre’s popularity, but the subsequent release of Marvel Rivals quickly dispelled that notion. Similarly, Highguard struggled with a muddled identity, leading to confusion among its audience.
Ogorodnikov reflects on these lessons, noting, “There are many traps. We don’t have the illusion of controlling the market. Big studios often try to calculate success with formulas but end up losing the soul of the game, delivering sterile products without character. They also rely too much on hype trains and inertia, treating new projects like cash cows.”
In response, Ogorodnikov has devised a different approach for Nomion. “Our way to avoid this is first to admit we don’t control the market but must fully control the quality of the gameplay moments and the ideas we put into the game and want to showcase,” he explained. Drawing on his experience with Escape From Tarkov and other significant projects, he believes that the team’s collective knowledge and strengths in shooter development will be pivotal.
Although Rush is Real is still in the prototyping phase, Ogorodnikov has confidently asserted that it will not be just another shooter. He promises an experience that amplifies risk and pressure to their utmost limits. The pressing question remains: how will Nomion ensure that Rush is Real avoids the trap of genericism? Ogorodnikov insists that the answer lies in maintaining a clear vision.
“By ‘not just another,’ I mean we’re not building a killer of anything or blindly copying,” he clarified. “We don’t promise a revolution or a game for everyone, and we don’t dilute our focus. We’re not assembling a Frankenstein from random parts, as often happens by inertia in large companies. What matters most to us is to implement ideas with quality—not averaged by formula, but radically and rationally. Right now, we’re making the most of the time we have. Very soon, we’ll show exactly what we’re preparing there.”
Ogorodnikov’s rationale resonates with the current market dynamics. While titles like Marathon may not be achieving the astronomical numbers of Arc Raiders, their polished presentation and commitment to delivering exceptional gameplay underscore the importance of a strong identity. Similarly, the anticipated 2025 Game of the Year, Clair Obscur Expedition 33, may not have reinvented the genre but succeeded in offering a captivating narrative and immersive RPG world. Such distinctiveness will be vital for Rush is Real to carve out its place in the competitive shooter landscape when it eventually debuts.
