Extraction shooters are a video-game genre that’s becoming increasingly popular among players. Their unusual gameplay structure and progression systems offer a unique and intense experience. Because of this, extraction shooters are often confused with another popular shooter subgenre — looter shooters.
What are the key differences between the two? How did this genre originate, and what are the most notable examples of extraction shooters? Read on to find out.
What Are Extraction Shooters?
Extraction shooters are multiplayer games with PvPvE mechanics, focused on collecting loot. They are most often played from a first- or third-person perspective. Although there are opponents in the game, the goal is not to eliminate them, but to obtain as much loot as possible. To achieve this, you often have to fight other players or temporarily ally with them.
Importantly, once you have collected your loot, you must leave the battlefield as quickly as possible, because losing your life means losing all the equipment you have acquired.
Extraction Shooters vs Looter Shooters
Both subgenres belong to the broader shooter category, but they differ in several important ways.
Looter shooters (often called loot shooters) also focus on collecting equipment, but the core idea of the gameplay is that you do not lose your gear when your character dies.
These games emphasize long-term progression — the gameplay loop is built around grinding enemies, completing missions, and steadily improving your loadout with better weapons and gear.
Extraction shooters put a stronger focus on tension, risk, and decision-making, which makes their gameplay more tactical and slower-paced than in looter shooters.
The Beginnings of Extraction Shooters
The extraction shooter genre has its roots in FPS and survival games, where the first elements of loot collection and high-risk gameplay started to appear.
The first true turning point for the genre was Escape from Tarkov, which not only combined traditional FPS mechanics with loot collection but also introduced a core risk-reward loop in which death meant losing all your equipment. This formula made the genre widely recognizable and inspired other titles that differed from standard FPS games yet shared similar extraction-based mechanics, such as Dark and Darker.
As a result, the broader term “extraction game” began to emerge to describe games built around this shared concept.
The Most Influential Extraction Shooters
Let’s now take a look at the most popular and influential examples of extraction shooter games or titles featuring extraction elements.
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Released in 2016, this TPS game with RPG elements was one of the first games to introduce players to mechanics later associated with the extraction shooter genre. The story takes place in post-pandemic New York, overrun by chaos and hostile factions. The player assumes the role of a Division agent, who has to restore order to the city.
The Division focuses mainly on online gameplay with TPS and RPG systems, where open-world exploration and missions play a key role. However, the game also features the Dark Zone, a PvPvE area where players gather valuable loot while confronting both AI enemies and other players, introducing an early extraction-style.
Escape from Tarkov
One of the most prominent examples of an FPS extraction shooter, released in beta in 2017 with a full launch in 2025. The game focuses on realistic raids with strong survival elements, set in the war-torn Russian city of Tarkov, divided by conflict between authorities and private corporations. Players must gather loot, fight both AI and other players, and reach an extraction point to secure their rewards.
Dying means losing all acquired gear unless properly protected. Story quests tie directly into both PvP and PvE activities, with emphasis on character and skill progression. The game also supports online team-based play.
Hunt: Showdown
This FPS with horror elements, released in 2019, continues the extraction shooter formula by delivering tense PvPvE online gameplay. Players take on the roles of monster hunters in 19th-century Louisiana, tracking down horrific beasts, defeating them, claiming the trophy, and escaping the map alive.
Matches are built around two-person teams, with a solo mode also available. The action unfolds on large maps filled with various monsters and environmental hazards. A key feature is the risk of permadeath, as losing a hunter means losing all their gear.
Call of Duty: Warzone
A fast-paced battle royale released in 2020, built on the Modern Warfare framework and offering free-to-play FPP action on expansive, big city maps. The game focuses on large-scale firefights and competitive online multiplayer modes.
Warzone also introduces the DMZ mode, which incorporates characteristic extraction shooter elements: players enter the zone, complete objectives, gather loot, and must extract safely before being eliminated. This mode adds a more tactical, risk-reward layer to the otherwise fast and dynamic battle royale experience.
Escape from Duckov
A 2025 release and a clear parody of Escape from Tarkov. This humorous title places players in a cartoon world where all characters are ducks instead of humans, yet still armed with weapons and gear. Besides fighting enemies and completing tasks, players also develop and expand their underground bunker.
Escape from Duckov includes the key elements of an extraction shooter, focusing on gathering loot, surviving chaotic firefights, and safely escaping the map, with death resulting in the loss of all collected equipment.
ARC Raiders
The most recent title shifted direction from a co-op shooter to an extraction shooter with PvPvE gameplay. It is set on open-world maps in a retro-futuristic universe. The player takes on the role of a Raider – one of the few surviving rebels on Earth - fighting powerful ARC machines descending from space.
Players must venture into dangerous zones, gather resources, and reach the evacuation point safely. As the game is based on online multiplayer, team coordination and cooperation are essential for survival.
Final Thoughts
The history of extraction shooters began with early FPS and survival titles that introduced loot-gathering and gear-management mechanics. Over time, extraction elements started appearing as dedicated modes or zones, eventually evolving into a distinct and increasingly popular subgenre.
Check out the most recent title, ARC Raiders from Embark Studios on G2A.COM