Ex-Battlefield devs are making a destruction-heavy FPS that sounds right up my alley

I've had my eye on Embark Studios, a new studio led by ex-EA boss Patrick Söderlund and ex-DICE developers, since it announced co-op robo shooter Arc Raiders at last year's Game Awards. Two weeks ago, Embark announced that it has delayed Arc Raiders because it wants to release the other game it's working on first.

That game is The Finals, a free-to-play, destruction-heavy FPS announced today at the Gamescom Opening Night Live show. Watch the brief teaser above.

The Finals is, by the sound of it, a competitive shooter themed around a game show. It's not the most original setup for a shooter in 2022, but what does sound original is the game's focus on reshaping its maps to fit your needs. Embark describes it as a game where "if you think something will work, it probably will."

Matches take place in "virtual arenas based on iconic real-world locations that contestants can alter, exploit, and even destroy in chaotic PvP matches." It's hard to tell exactly what degree of destruction we're talking about based on a few seconds of rapidly-cut gameplay, but if all that rubble is accurate, we may be freely blowing holes into walls like Rainbow Six Siege.

Beyond the promise of crumbling buildings, we don't know anything about the kind of shooter The Finals will be. It sounds like it'll probably be team-based, but will it be yet another battle royale? Maybe it'll be on a smaller scale with several 3-4 person squads, or maybe The Finals will join the burgeoning extraction shooter genre.

Embark will have more to say and gameplay to show from The Finals in September, which is also when the first closed playtest is happening. You can sign up for that right now on the game's Steam page. The page currently lists the game as "coming soon," but considering Arc Raiders got pushed to 2023 to give this shooter more room, The Finals may be out for real by the end of the year.

Catch up with our full list of Gamescom announcements from Opening Night Live and check our Gamescom schedule to find out when to watch everything else.