Both Arc Raiders and Marathon involve "gathering resources, fighting enemies, and retreating after victory/defeat," but the gameplay experiences are completely different.

Arc Raiders has a stronger social element; not all players are interested in combat, and many casual players simply enjoy playing with friends. Marathon, on the other hand, focuses solely on player-versus-player combat and conflict, with virtually no real social interaction, which attracts a large number of competitive players.

Currently, the polarized opinions on these two games on social media stem from this: which is more important, social or competitive?

Arc Raiders excels in in-game PvE while also incorporating PvP, but the implementation doesn't truly differentiate between them. The problem lies in the lack of a distinction between casual and competitive matchmaking. Players entering matchmaking cannot discern whether other players are friendly or whether they need to prepare for PvP while engaging in PvE. Many players may start matchmaking hoping to "make new friends," only to be killed by opposing players. Competitive players start the game with a "fight to the death" mentality, but often find themselves unable to truly engage in combat against harmless non-teammates.

Marathon's focus is clearly different from Arc Raiders. Marathon emphasizes the PvP process; non-teammates don't need to socialize or communicate. The game's objective is simply to "aim, pull the trigger, kill, and loot" when encountering an enemy. Some players have commented that the game's social aspects are too weak, but this is precisely where the developers' design lies: prioritize competition over social interaction. Trying to balance both can easily lead to a lose-lose situation; focusing on one aspect often yields better results.

Arc Raiders' popularity stems from two main reasons: first, its high-quality production—excellent PvE gameplay, beautifully rendered environments—and second, its beginner-friendly environment. The unpredictable nature of player-versus-player combat creates a second gameplay mode: cooperative play. This greatly benefits new players. In contrast, in Marathon, new players entering the game without sufficient practice are easily killed by those who started earlier.

Looking at comparisons between Arc Raiders and Marathon within the community, these two games are more like two separate Tarkov games with distinct focuses. Arc Raiders emphasizes cooperative creation aspects such as resource gathering, item crafting, and weapon upgrades, while Marathon takes Tarkov's high learning curve and brutal competitive nature to the extreme. Although both include item crafting, Arc Raiders Blueprints and materials are clearly more sought after by all Arc Raiders players. However, obtaining these blueprints involves facing scarcity and the risk of being plundered by rival players.