According to Wccftech, ARC Raiders has hit another major milestone by surpassing 700,000 concurrent players across all platforms over the past weekend. The free-to-play shooter from Embark Studios reached a new peak of 462,488 players on Steam alone just yesterday. Since launching on October 30, 2025, the game hasn’t dropped below 100,000 concurrent players on Steam. It’s reportedly already sold over 2.5 million copies, with most sales coming through Valve’s platform. Neither PlayStation nor Xbox shares player numbers publicly, so console figures remain unknown. But the PC numbers from SteamDB tell a compelling story of explosive early growth.
The real test begins now
Here’s the thing about live service games – a strong launch is great, but it’s meaningless if players disappear in a month. We’ve seen this story before with countless multiplayer shooters that burst onto the scene then fade into obscurity. The fact that ARC Raiders hasn’t dipped below 100K concurrent players on Steam since launch is genuinely impressive. But can Embark Studios maintain this momentum?
Look, they’ve got some serious credibility here. The Finals proved they know how to build engaging multiplayer experiences that keep people coming back. And ARC Raiders is actually having a bigger launch than The Finals did. That’s no small feat. But the free-to-play model is brutal – you’re competing for players’ time against established giants like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Call of Duty.
The roadmap question
Embark has the game roadmapped through the rest of 2025, which is smart. But there’s nothing public for 2026 yet. That makes me wonder about their long-term content strategy. Live service games live or die by their content pipeline. Players will burn through whatever’s available at launch, then they’ll want new reasons to stick around.
And honestly, the timing couldn’t be better for a new shooter to capture attention. We’re in that sweet spot between major franchise releases, and gamers are hungry for something fresh. ARC Raiders seems to be hitting that sweet spot between accessible gameplay and enough depth to keep hardcore players engaged.
What comes next
The real challenge begins now. Converting launch hype into sustained engagement is where most games stumble. Embark needs to keep the content flowing, balance the game carefully, and build a community that feels heard. They’ve got the technical chops – now they need to prove they can evolve the experience fast enough to keep players invested.
Basically, we’re about to find out if ARC Raiders is the next big thing in shooters or just another flash in the pan. The numbers are undeniable right now. But in six months? That’s when we’ll know if this is truly Embark’s second hit or just a promising start that couldn’t sustain itself.
