The player numbers of ARC Raiders are dropping continuously. Now the next major update is approaching, but can that really save the Extraction Shooter? The big problem runs deeper and requires a lot of work to turn the tide.
This is the current status: For several weeks now, the player numbers of ARC Raiders have been steadily declining. Looking at the daily peak, it was still around 145,000-158,000 simultaneous players at the end of March. In the past week, the peak was “only” 116,000, sometimes even just 80,000 to 90,000.
On average, ARC Raiders played:
- in January 241,000
- in February 171,000
- in March 112,000
- in the past 30 days 80,000
Moreover, an increasing number of negative player reviews are appearing on Steam and the mood on social networks is also turning. Only 69% of the reviews written in April on Steam are positive. In comparison: The total number of all reviews since release is significantly better at 85%.
Fundamental problems drive more players away
Looking around the ARC Raiders community, several criticisms are mentioned particularly often:
- Cheaters
- Lack of content
- Insignificant loot
- PvE vs. PvP
ARC Raiders has – like many shooters – a ton of cheaters, and Embark can’t control them. Streamers are also suffering severely from stream snipers and are increasingly turning their backs on the game – resulting in a significant loss of public visibility.
Many regular players are separately moving to other games because they run out of content or the game feels increasingly repetitive. This is mainly due to the weak endgame of the Extraction Shooter. Many players have now reached a point where there is little (new) to do. They have everything and play just for the grind or for the sake of playing – until they eventually lose interest completely.
A problem with the endgame is the loot found, which becomes almost insignificant later on – especially from the ARCs. In PvE, progress quickly becomes trivial, as players need to bring expensive gear for the strong, heavily armored ARCs, but the ARCs hardly drop any worthwhile items. The risk of losing equipment – whether through ARCs or other players – outweighs the benefits.
Overall, the community remains strongly divided. There is a stark contrast between the needs of PvE and PvP players, and Embark is struggling to maintain fun for both sides with changes and new content – losing in the attempt to please both sides.
An update is not enough to “save” ARC Raiders
The big question now is: What must Embark do to stop the downward trend and save ARC Raiders? The answer to that is both simple and highly complex.
The cheater problem is nearly unsolvable. If you start any shooter and play at a relatively high level, you encounter cheaters. Deep anti-cheat systems that operate at the kernel level or secure boot and TPM 2.0 are technologies that help in the fight against cheats, but can never fully resolve the issue.
Additionally, past updates have shown that many players only return temporarily. New enemies and the new map coming on April 28 will likely lead to a short-term increase in player numbers. But as soon as the new content also feels repetitive, the returning players lose interest again. To keep them, the system needs a fundamental overhaul.
| All new content from ARC Raiders at a glance | |
| Month | Innovation |
| November 2025 | – Stella Montis (new map) – New ARC enemies (Matriarch, Shredder) – New map conditions (Electromagnetic Storm, Hidden Bunker, and Night Raid) – Introduction of the Duo mode – New community events & quests |
| December 2025 | – New map condition (Snowfall) – Event Flickering Flames (Candleberry Banquet) – New Raider Decks (Goalie Deck) |
| January 2025 | – Permanent map condition (Bird City) – Introduction of new Epic Augments; – new game mode (Solo vs Squads) |
| February 2026 | – New map condition (Hurricane) – New ARC enemies (Firefly & Comet) – Map expansion (Controlled Access Zone) |
| March 2026 | – New weapons (Dolabra & Canto) – New deployable (Surge Coil) – New ARC enemy (Vaporizer) – New map condition (Close Scrutin) – Shredders are now globally active on all maps. |
The most important area to address is the endgame or long-term motivation. This is easy to say, but Embark must make fundamental changes to ensure that players stay or return in the long term. The progression system needs to be revamped so that grinding is worthwhile for players who have invested hundreds of hours.
ARC Raiders needs more variety and better rewards to incentivize players to engage with the game. With the current quest system, skill tree, and insignificant loot, players are left with little to do despite hundreds of hours of playtime.
- The quests only reward items that no one needs and are recycled immediately.
- For the challenges, there is often just a skin instead of good loot.
- The bonuses from expeditions lose their appeal with each expedition because the advantages are so minor that players lose interest in grinding everything again.
- Building different builds is not worthwhile. There are meta weapons, and deviating from them makes no sense.
A gamer showed that looking at The Division 2 can be worthwhile. The loot shooter has such a well-developed progression system in the endgame that players almost always have something to do that enhances their character. ARC Raiders has gaps in this regard and should improve build variety and character progression.
Overall, ARC Raiders lacks worthwhile incentives. However, PvP players must not be forgotten. Embark has stated in the past that they do not want PvP leaderboards, but PvP players are also part of the community. A ranked mode or similar could provide them with a new incentive to grind, while also creating an environment geared towards PvP. This could even have the advantage that PvE players are potentially less forced into PvP in the “normal” matchmaking.
In the past, games have also experimented with game modes that mix Extraction Shooter and Battle Royale. In such modes, only one team can extract at a time. This could be introduced as a special map event, offering rare loot or points on a leaderboard.
A rescue is (still) not necessary
Yes, ARC Raiders has been steadily losing players for months. One aspect is often forgotten in this discussion: ARC Raiders was an incredible success that had many more players as a hit on all platforms than the developers ever dreamed of.
Many games start with significantly more daily players than they can maintain over the years. This is completely normal. The player numbers stabilize over time at a certain level.
Helldivers 2, for example, fell from an average of 274,000 players in the release month of February 2024 to just under 25,000 players in August. Nevertheless, the shooter continues to be supported by the developers and has a solid community that plays the game regularly. In February 2026, after a major update, even 76,000 players were playing on average again.
If ARC Raiders can maintain between 25,000 and 70,000 players solely on Steam in the long term, it is significantly worse than the numbers at release, but still not a failure. ARC Raiders simply managed to attract many players who typically do not play Extraction Shooters. Many of them will eventually stop playing, and others will find new games that interest them.
I personally have not yet reached the point in ARC Raiders where I no longer want to see the game. I play it occasionally, as a change from competitive PvP shooters, and enjoy interacting with other players rather than grinding progress. Because no matter what updates the game receives in the future, the best situations arise with other people – for example, when you ask them absurd questions: I asked people if I could shoot them in ARC Raiders, and the answer shocks me as a professional gamer.
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