Embark Studios CEO Patrick Soderlund has landed a big new role at the company ARC Raiders the parent company of the developer, newly named executive chairman of Nexon. The Swedish video game studio has been the talk of the gaming industry since the release of its latest game late last year, p ARC Raiders will quickly take the gaming world by storm. The shooter had already sold over 12 million copies as of January 2026, and even nabbed Best Multiplayer Game just over a month after its launch at the 2025 Game Awards. Embark Studios also boasts some impressive talent in its ranks behind the scenes.
Patrick Soderlund, while not one of the biggest names in the gaming industry, is no stranger to big name titles and studios throughout his career. Soderlund first joined Electronic Arts in 1996 and stayed with the company for 12 years, serving as everything from lead designer to executive vice president of Worldwide Studios. Soderlund also served as the company's CEO Battlefield developer at DICE before founding Embark Studios months after leaving EA in 2018. Now Patrick Soderlund is moving up the ranks to take on a new executive role at Nexon.
Over 16,000 ARC Raiders fans agree that the game is in desperate need of 1 patch
Thousands of fans are urging Embark Studios to fix one issue with ARC Raiders ASAP, not exploits or bugs.
Nexon named Embark CEO Patrick Soderlund as executive chairman
Nexon has officially named Patrick Soderlund as the company's executive chairman, moving Embark's founder into the role of its parent company. Soderlund will reportedly be in charge of the company's “long-term strategy and creative direction” as well as how Nexon “develops games globally” in his new role at the developer and publisher. Soderlund is expected to work as the chief creative leader for Nexon alongside current CEO Junghun Lee, while continuing his role as CEO of Embark Studios. In a public statement about the move, Soderlund expressed his excitement at working in a larger role with Nexon, as he felt the company had “all the assets to unleash dramatic growth.”
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The new Nexon appointment brings Soderlund's proven track record at Embark into a larger role at the company after years under his umbrella. Embark Studios was fully bought out by Nexon in 2021, before the studio fully confirmed its first game release in Final. Soderlund's role at DICE has seen him lead the company through some of its highest points during the launch of popular games such as Battlefield 3 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. Soderlund has also shown his keen eye for what it takes to make a game successful, which shows ARC Raiders' popularity.
ARC Raiders has been a huge success for Embark Studios since its debut in late October 2025. In addition to impressive sales numbers, the developer has continued to push consistent updates to the game almost every week since its initial launch. ARC Raiders officially launched the Headwinds update at the end of January, adding a new Solo vs. Squads along with a trophy display system. The patch also introduced a brand new Bird City state for the buried city with increased ziplines, trinkets and birds on the map, including some exclusive trinkets.
The groundbreaking success of Embark Studios with ARC Raiders looks set to continue as the game has a lot more on the way. The upcoming Shrouded Sky update will add a brand new Hurricane map modifier that will significantly affect wind speed and player movement while the condition is active. Hurricane is also expected to bring some highly valuable loot to players in the storm, tasking fans with braving the harsh winds to claim some exclusive rewards for their efforts. Patrick Soderlund's success with ARC Raiders should bode well for Nexon as the popular extraction shooter grows and evolves with each new patch.
