ARC Raiders: The Extraction Shooter That’s Rewriting the Rules
While most multiplayer games fade after launch, ARC Raiders won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025 and continues defying expectations. The game has sold over 12 million copies worldwide as of January 2026, with 3.2 million daily active users on January 4—its biggest day yet.
Embark Studios’ PvPvE extraction shooter launched October 30, 2025, and hasn’t looked back. During the December 21 to January 4 holiday period, ARC Raiders sold an additional 1.2 million copies on Steam, topping the platform’s sales chart. The secret? Players cite its perfect balance—”Casual but deep if you want it to be. Great solo game. Great friend group game.”
Steam reviews are 87% positive from 144,401 users, praising the Unreal Engine 5-powered post-apocalyptic Italy setting where players battle deadly ARC machines and rival Raiders. The community momentum is real: concurrent player counts show no sign of the game leaving Steam’s top-played games anytime soon.
With the Stella Montis map, new ARC enemies like Matriarch and Shredder, and ongoing seasonal content, Embark proves extraction shooters aren’t just surviving—they’re thriving.
Are you ready to risk it all topside? What’s your extraction strategy?
