Embark Studios is one of the most community-oriented development teams, focusing on what the core player base wants rather than just listening to so-called “authority” figures.
Streamer Ninja, considered one of those figures in some other livestreaming circles, is now fully pro- ARK Raiders ongoing “random” focus.
“Please the damn casuals, professional play is secondary,” Ninja said in a recent stream (Thanks CDL Hater Central). He emphasized that the game is primarily casual in nature, and stated that these are the players who “spend money and play the game”, while professionals are in the minority. He added that he had previously advocated for more emphasis on the professional game, which he believed would lead to greater balance overall, but had since changed his mind.
I think ARK Raiders and any online shooter should always focus on the casual side of things. The professional game is completely separate and exists on a plane far removed from that on which everyone else is. Builds are never the same, neither are strategies and tactics, and no matter how much casual players try to emulate professional players in a casual setting, it will never result in the same gameplay.
The two categories are so separate that they should never be confused, and some developers are well aware of this. Pros play on separate servers, have tight queues and environments to work in, and are largely separated from the casual players who make up the vast majority of every game.
Moreover, ARK Raiders is an extravagant shooter, and its potential as a huge esport isn't all that great. Of course you are Maybe form a competitive environment around the game, but it is not a team game, like Counter-Strike 2 or League of Legendswhich serves to further develop the “accidental” point of view. Casual play is at the heart of the gameplay, and so it doesn't make sense to explain why Embark should cater to that small minority of so-called professionals at all.
Unfortunately, many voices favor the latter, but Embark still maintains good connections with the wider community, addressing their needs and concerns rather than ignoring them and only listening to a closed cabal of streamers and professionals.
