The 10 BEST Extraction Shooters

“The Forever Winter” (2024)

Getting tired of the usual “military man in a future apocalypse” setting? Well, “The Forever Winter” has a world that might spice things up for you. Rather than shoot and loot enemies, you must traverse a wasteland ruled by giant robots and loot corpses for materials. Of course, you’ll have your own means to defend yourself, but “The Forever Winter” wants you to prioritize survival more than killcount. Sneak past enemies, run away – anything that ensures you will live by the end of this. So, don’t get too crazy with approaching enemies and engaging in fights. Get in, grab stuff, and get out.

“ZERO Sievert” (2024)

So, maybe you’re not super crazy about playing with other players and prefer to stay in your single-player cave. Well, “ZERO Sievert” is perfect for those of you flying solo. In addition to having a top-down perspective to freshen things up, this game keeps things tense by procedurally generating new layouts every time you enter a biome. No run is ever the same, much like your typical roguelikes and roguelites. There is also a much deeper focus on weapon customization to refine your playstyle. Just know that even a tiny bit of progress isn’t going to make things any easier. It’ll be just as difficult as the more multiplayer-focused extraction shooters.

“Witchfire” (2024)

Much like “ZERO Sievert”, “Witchfire” takes great pride in offering an extraction shooter experience to those wanting to play by themselves, and it comes boasting an imaginative art direction, too. Though looting and getting out is still a key part of the gameplay loop, “Witchfire” wants you to actually spend time with your weapons; you’ll only lose resources instead of gear upon death. It’s caused some to reconsider its categorization, but that’s really dependent on how hardcore you may be into the subgenre. Even so, “Witchfire” is one worth looking into if you’re craving a dark fantasy game.

“Arena Breakout: Infinite” (2025)

We promise the rest of the list isn’t going to be too much “military man in survival apocalypse setting with word vomit title”, but “Arena Breakout: Infinite” is much better than its name would imply. This extraction shooter is more for the speed freaks and twitch shooter players. No longer do you have to worry about someone having higher stats and better loot than you as everything here comes down to traversal and precision. Here’s your weapon, here’s the map, go hunt your fellow players down like the vermin they are. Get out, and you get to carry your loadout into the next game. Die, and poof – it’s gone. But it’s hard feeling down about that when games go by so quickly, and that kind of frenetic pacing makes it easy to jump in and jump out of the game whenever you please.

“Dark And Darker” (2024)

Whereas most extraction shooters require some kind of payment, “Dark And Darker” is best for those of you on a tighter budget as it is a free-to-play title. Not only that, but it boasts a fun “Dungeons & Dragons” vibe where you’ll explore a labyrinthian dungeon crawling with monsters as well as other players. It’ll be up to you and the others whether you want to escape together or betray one another for better loot. Just keep in mind that no matter what you decide to do, the environment doesn’t make things any easier. Hope it was worth being a traitorous peasant!

“Escape From Duckov” (2025)

This is certainly the most unique-looking extraction shooter on the market. Yes, this is a parody of “Escape From Tarkov”, but with rubber duckies instead of gritty soldiers and survivalists. However, this is one of the more chill extraction shooters you can play. There is still some tension between fighting hordes of enemies and managing your inventory, but the difficulty is deeply customizable, allowing you to make things as hard or as easy as you want. Plus, death doesn’t mean losing literally everything. So, if you’re new to the genre, “Escape From Duckov” is the perfect game to help you get acquainted.

“Hunt: Showdown 1896” (2019)

If, for whatever reason, you feel other extraction shooters aren’t tense enough, then maybe “Hunt: Showdown” will suffice. On the surface, this may seem a bit like “Dead by Daylight” for extraction shooter fans with its wide range of equipable perks and creatively designed hunters. But the game does not care about your fancy hunters and their cool cosmetics. In “Hunt: Showdown”, you need to be smart and track your targets carefully as death means your hunter is gone for good. Well, if you manage to get past Bloodline Rank 11. Should they die after that point, there is no retry – they are gone from your account for good! Ain’t no room here to be bumming around like Elmer Fudd.

“Helldivers II” (2024)

Say what you will about Sony’s failed live service initiative, but there’s no denying the booming success that is “Helldivers II”. From the very beginning, the game makes it clear that you are going to die quite a bit throughout your fight for democracy, and you’re going to do so in some ridiculous ways. As for the gameplay, players have found a ton of enjoyment in gunplay, customizing loadouts, and pairing up to take down vicious insects, robots, and more. Whether you’re on PC or PlayStation 5, “Helldivers II” is definitely a game that you and your buds might get hooked on for a while, if not a few weekends.

“ARC Raiders” (2025)

It was only a matter of time before we got to this one. “ARC Raiders” has been one of the more surprising successes within the genre as some folks aren’t super keen on the aesthetic. Regardless, players are enjoying themselves with some of the most absurd encounters imaginable. Killer drones, giant robots, backstabbing teammates, the whole nine yards. Unless you take your game time seriously, “ARC Raiders” might be a fun time for you. Just don’t be surprised if no one trusts you and guns you down the second they spot you.

“Marathon” (2026)

It may be the new kid on the block compared to our other entries. Nevertheless, “Marathon” is one of the most popular extraction shooters you can jump into, and it’s fairly friendly to newcomers of all kinds. In addition to gathering materials for profit and finding obscenely broken weaponry, “Marathon” really shines at the end of every season as new locations unlock such as the Cryo Archive. Expect every player to bring their best gear into missions! But once the season ends, everyone goes through a complete reset; all gear is wiped, forcing everyone to grind for new equipment before the next big finale. Those who love long-term investments like this will find solace in “Marathon”.

Have you tried any of these games for yourself? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe to MojoPlays.