This autumn is a big season for the shooter scene, largely because of October's big hit Battlefield 6 and the imminent Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 scheduled to come out in just a few weeks going head-to-head in direct FPS competition. But sandwiched between these two juggernauts is the newly released ARC Raiders — and it's off to a very strong start.
Embark Studios' (the team behind the popular 2024 shooter The Finals) new PvPvE extraction shooter launched on Thursday morning across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PS5, and has quickly become one of the most-played games on Valve's PC gaming platform Steam right now.
Indeed, ARC Raiders' initial launch performance is very impressive, though perhaps not terribly surprising given how much excitement for the game there was in the months and weeks leading up to release. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that — at least in multiplayer shooter circles — the extraction shooter was one of 2025's most highly anticipated titles before it came out.
Much of that hype can be attributed to several playtests that Embark Studios held, with the developer running closed invite-only betas last year and this spring before kicking off a public "Server Slam" open beta earlier this month that blew up Steam and other platforms. Notably, its peak numbers nearly breached 200K, forecasting the launch performance we're seeing now.
To be honest, I'm not even that big into PvP and extraction shooters or battle royales, but even I enjoyed ARC Raiders greatly and am looking forward to playing more now that it's out.
I played a bit of the game myself during the Server Slam, and also got to check it out alongside my colleague Michael Hoglund during a recent preview event (I had a great time, and he had an absolute blast). To be honest, I'm not even that big into PvP and extraction shooters or battle royales, but even I enjoyed it greatly and am looking forward to playing more now that it's out.
A few big reasons why include engaging PvE combat with the "ARC" robots that roam the game's environments, tight third-person gunplay, clean visibility, and a balanced risk vs reward-based "loot, fight, and extract" loop with systems and map designs that facilitate enjoyable engagements with other players.
I'm also a huge fan of the game's retro sci-fi aesthetic, complete with rugged and worn designs that contrast nicely with the 80s techno vibe of the overall setting and fit right in with its post-apocalyptic state.
It's great to see ARC Raiders launch with such a strong performance, especially since it's also reviewing well with the game's opening waves of players. 3,132 reviews have been posted by fans on Steam so far, and 89% of them have been positive. As a result, the title currently sports a "Very Positive" rating on the platform.
ARC Raiders has also notably overtaken Battlefield 6 on Steam's Top Sellers chart, knocking the large-scale multiplayer FPS down to second place and securing its top position above other big new games like Dispatch and Xbox's huge Obsidian RPG The Outer Worlds 2.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not the game will carry this momentum into the coming days and weeks. But thus far, all signs point to ARC Raiders becoming one of the year's biggest and best titles.
Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not the game will carry this momentum into the coming days and weeks. But thus far, all signs point to ARC Raiders becoming one of the year's biggest and best titles, and carving out a big piece of the pie despite Battlefield and Call of Duty pulling shooter players in other directions.
If you want to jump into ARC Raiders yourself, you can pick it up for $40 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (Steam, Epic Games), and PS5. Something to keep in mind, though, is that the Steam version is just $34.99 at Loaded (formerly CDKeys) thanks to a nice deal. That's $5 off the MSRP, which is a cool little discount for a game that just launched.
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