ARC Raiders’ momentum isn’t slowing down. The extraction-shooter from Embark Studios has now outperformed Battlefield 6 on Steam for the second consecutive weekend, and its player count keeps trending upward.
Steam’s public statistics show that ARC Raiders reached a new peak of nearly 482,000 concurrent players during its most recent weekend. Battlefield 6, by comparison, dropped well under 300,000 during the same timeframe, a noticeable dip for a marquee shooter that launched earlier this fall.
This puts ARC Raiders in a remarkable position: It’s now sitting among some of Steam’s top all-time most-played games, sharing space with major franchises people talk about for years, not weeks.
What’s driving this rapid rise? A few things seem to be lining up perfectly:
- PvPvE gameplay hits a sweet spot – tense extraction meets unpredictable encounters
- Fresh hype window – it arrived just as several shooter players were looking for something new
- Strong word-of-mouth – influencers and communities are spreading the buzz fast
Of course, Battlefield 6 still boasts a much higher all-time peak, so this isn’t a done deal in the long run. But trends matter and right now, all signs point to ARC Raiders becoming one of the year’s biggest surprise success stories.
If the game can maintain its player engagement into the holiday update period, we may witness a genuine genre shake-up, one that puts a brand-new IP in the same conversation as industry giants.
Stay tuned to VGNW and X, will be keeping close watch on the numbers, the updates, and what happens next in this growing shooter rivalry.
