The extraction shooter ARC Raiders was released on October 30, 2025, and already boasts impressive player numbers on Steam. The community ratings are also positive.
What is ARC Raiders? It is a new game from developer Embark Studios and is another representative of the extraction shooter genre. This includes titles like Escape from Tarkov.
The genre is very popular, but it was exciting to see if the dystopian setting and the struggle for survival would once again find its players. As usual, one must face hostile players, called Raiders, but also the ARC, extremely deadly machines.
After many players had eagerly waited on Steam before release, the title is finally here, and the raw numbers reveal how ARC Raiders performs on the platform. Spoiler: The shooter does not need to hide.
And the numbers keep rising …
How is it looking on Steam? ARC Raiders has hit like a bomb. Already around 10 AM, half an hour after release, there were over 140,000 players simultaneously on the servers according to steam.db.
This number continued to grow throughout the day. By 2 PM, the 180,000 players mark was broken, and in the early evening hours of October 30, the game surpassed the 200,000 player mark. The peak continues to rise minute by minute and is currently at over 226,000 simultaneous users (as of: 30.10.2025, 7 PM).
In comparison with other popular titles on Steam, ARC Raiders also performs very well. With these numbers, the game ranks 5th among the most played titles (via steam.db). Behind long-standing favorites and current hits like PUBG, Battlefield 6, Dota 2, and the leader Counter-Strike 2.
This is a remarkable success for the new extraction shooter. The genre is currently popular and competitive, and new titles have it tough. Whether and how the game can maintain this position in the coming days remains to be seen. Currently, the numbers are still rising.
The mood in the community is already good. The game has a rating of “very positive” on Steam, with 87% of users giving it a thumbs up.
What do the players think? User Vanrath calls ARC Raiders on Steam a “gem in today’s times” and praises the gunplay and movement, the understandable crafting, the sound design, and the general coherent atmosphere.
Also, Philschinksy appreciates the dense post-apocalyptic atmosphere and writes on Steam: “The world feels alive and credible, while the teamwork is really fun – especially when taking down large ARCs together.”
For FreudAndError, ARC Raiders is a good alternative to Escape from Tarkov and describes the new game on Steam as “relaxed” in comparison. The title makes it clear that everything here is meant to be fun, and the approach is not too hardcore.
Provided that you enjoy PVP. For User Dragor, the focus on battles against other players is a problem. He would wish for a PVE version. Whether the developers will consider this request is questionable.
So far, the game can convince most users. On consoles, where ARC Raiders will also be released, the servers are likely to be similarly full. If you need help in the game, we have some good beginner tips for you on MeinMMO.
