There’s a lot of extraction shooters out there from the likes of Escape From Tarkov to Helldivers 2, yet there’s definitely a new kid on the block. ARC Raiders dropped October 30 and it’s blasted expectations, even hitting a new record of over 450,000 concurrent players on Steam alone. That’s a pretty lofty achievement and rightly so with ARC Raiders blending PVPVE into a looting and shooting experience that is never ever the same.
The game’s player count has been steadily rising since launch, beating Embark Studios’ other game, The Finals. ARC Raiders sees players loading into a server at a time where they must loot and be on the lookout for ARC – robotic enemies that can be quite formidable along. As if that’s not enough, other raiders also prove a challenge as you navigate who’s friendly and who’s not with proximity chat or some rudimentary emotes.
Initially, I was pulled into the vibes of ARC Raiders when it was revealed at the 2021 Game Awards with none other than a Robyn song banging over clips of players fighting machines and working together. While the later trailers haven’t featured Robyn, the game has been eager to showcase that community element, which since launch has exploded with viral clips and stories of near misses – and gruelling hauls of lost loot.
At it’s heart, ARC Raiders is quite the ride with every trip to the surface being something new. Since launch, it’s also been revealed what’s next for players. From a new map, weather events, new ARC enemies, more quests, and cosmetics. As a live service experience, it’ll be interesting to see how the game holds players’ attention over the next year.
There is also some concern in the player community around the game’s use of AI. The Finals come under similar scrutiny after it was revealed that the game’s announcers were a mix of recorded and audio generated via AI TTS tools. Embark Studios noted in a statement to IGN back then that “making games without actors isn’t an end goal.”
ARC Raiders is out now on PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.
