The extraction genre frustrates many players, yet more and more studios are embracing it. According to the creator of Witchfire, this is no coincidence: it is one of the most natural ways to keep players under constant tension.

In recent years, extraction-based gameplay has become nearly unavoidable in the video game industry. More and more developers are turning to this controversial genre because it offers a gameplay loop that can renew itself organically. Players earn rewards, lose them, and try again, creating a cycle that naturally sustains motivation.

At first glance, it might seem like a mechanic reserved only for large competitive AAA titles, but many games use it only partially. Helldivers 2, for example, does not define itself strictly as an extraction game, instead focusing on cooperation and overwhelming enemy hordes. Still, successfully extracting from missions is crucial for progression and ship upgrades. A similar approach can be seen in Destiny 2, where the Renegades expansion introduced a mode in which certain resources can only be kept if the player successfully exits the mission.

Witchfire, developed by The Astronauts, the creators of Painkiller and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, fits neatly into this trend. The game is currently approaching the final stage of early access and is preparing for its last major updates before full release. Recently, studio founder and creative director Adrian Chmielarz explained why so many developers are drawn to extraction mechanics, even outside of live service models.

The Balance Between Tension and Chaos

Chmielarz recalled a conversation from his time at People Can Fly, when a Call of Duty campaign was analyzed in terms of structure. While he did not name a specific installment, it likely referred to the period between Modern Warfare and Black Ops 2. The focus was on pacing, the rhythm of gameplay that determines pressure, intensity, and how calm moments alternate with explosive action.

“Call of Duty constantly shifts between tension and chaos. There is a stealthy, suspenseful section, and once you are exposed, chaos breaks loose. Sometimes you experience both at the same time”, he explained. According to him, the same dynamic appears in games like DayZ, where quiet scavenging can instantly turn into chaotic firefights triggered by a single gunshot.

Extraction mechanics amplify this exact wave-like motion. A countdown increases pressure, approaching enemies raise tension, and situations grow increasingly chaotic. “When you get this right, you end up with a fantastic game”, Chmielarz said.

In Witchfire, extraction allows players to return to the central hub while keeping their accumulated experience. However, the game is about more than that: it is about controlling entropy. The world constantly reacts to the player’s presence, events unfold dynamically, the witch actively shapes the environment, and survival depends on learning how to read and manage these signals.

The recent Reckoning update introduced melee weapons and the Extraction 2.0 system, which makes the world respond even more aggressively to looting. According to The Astronauts, versions 0.9 and 1.0 are planned for release sometime in 2026, though no exact dates have been announced.

Source: 3djuegos