Arc Raiders Becomes Steam's New Sensation
Embark Studios’ third-person extraction shooter, Arc Raiders, has rapidly gained traction, surpassing 250,000 concurrent players on Steam within its first day. The player count peaked at 264,673 on Valve’s platform, marking it as one of 2025's standout releases in the genre.
A Major Competitor in the Extraction Shooter Genre
The game now ranks alongside major titles like Counter-Strike 2, PUBG, and Dota 2 in terms of concurrent player numbers. Earlier playtests, such as the Server Slam event with around 189,668 participants, hinted at this strong performance, reflecting Embark Studios’ readiness for launch.
Outperforming Popular Free-to-Play Games
Arc Raiders currently outpaces big free-to-play names like Apex Legends and Marvel Rivals on Steam. Additionally, since the game also launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S—where live player stats aren't publicly available—the total player base is likely even larger.
Promising Future Growth
Releasing midweek, the game is expected to attract even more players over the weekend, boosting its already impressive presence on PC.
“Arc Raiders currently holds a ‘Very Positive’ rating on Steam, with over 25,000 player reviews—a strong indicator that the enthusiasm isn’t merely first-day hype.”
For a fresh IP in a competitive genre, these numbers establish Arc Raiders as one of the biggest PC launches of 2025.
Author's summary: Arc Raiders quickly shattered player records on Steam at launch, outpacing many genre giants and earning highly positive reviews, signaling strong lasting appeal in 2025.