When Swedish studio Embark finally unleashed Arc Raiders into the wild on October 30, 2025, the extraction‑shooter boom got its biggest shake‑up in years. In its first 24 hours, the free‑to‑play co‑op shooter drew over 264 thousand concurrent players on Steam and quickly climbed the platform’s top‑seller charts, signaling a huge appetite for a sci‑fi take on the genre. With its blend of tense looting runs, shared progression, and emergent sandbox battles against hulking robots, Arc Raiders is off to an explosive start.
Here’s everything you need to know about the launch, what makes it stand out, and why the raid to retrieve scrap on a ruined Earth has players hooked.
Fast Facts
| Release date | 30 October 2025 (worldwide launch) |
| Developer/publisher | Embark Studios (a Nexon subsidiary) |
| Platforms | PC (Steam, Epic), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S with full cross‑play support |
| Genre | Third‑person co‑operative extraction shooter |
| Modes | PvE and PvPvE matchmaking; drop‑in co‑op for up to 3 players |
| Price | Free‑to‑play with optional cosmetics and convenience purchases |
A Devastated Earth Reclaimed by Scavengers
Arc Raiders is set decades after humanity drove off an invasion of enormous automatons known as ARC. Earth lies in ruins, and what’s left of society has clustered into ramshackle bases while raiders venture out to scavenge the fallen machines. The post‑invasion world feels lived‑in, with dense forests, flooded highways, and rusting industrial zones filled with patrolling drones and towering walker robots. Embark emphasises stealth as much as gunplay; it’s often smarter to watch an ARC convoy rumble by than risk drawing every sentinel in the area.
You play as a ragtag raider who drops into 30‑minute raids with two other players. Each run tasks you with looting valuable resources from crash sites, abandoned depots, or the carcasses of fallen ARC machines before extracting. Extraction is the only way to keep your loot – di,e and everything you’ve picked up is lost. Extract by calling an elevator or sprinting to a hatch, and you’ll bank materials to craft gear and unlock tech on a persistent skill tree.
How the Extraction Loop Works
Arc Raiders matches last roughly 30 minutes, and the risk/reward tension ramps up the longer you stay. Here’s a quick overview of the loop:
- Drop in: choose a landing zone, then airdrop onto the map with basic gear. Raids support solo play but are balanced around three‑person squads.
- Scavenge: fight ARC patrols and hostile raider factions while looting supply crates, scrap piles, and world events for valuable resources and blueprints.
- Complete objectives: optional tasks like powering relay towers or downing a boss yield higher‑tier rewards but attract tougher enemies.
- Extract: call an extraction elevator or locate a secret hatch. If you die before extracting, you lose your haul. Survive and you bank everything, plus XP for your universal skill tree.
Embark has built a forgiving loot-retrieval system — fail to extract, and you still keep a portion of your haul. This helps soften the sting of losses and encourages players to push for one more objective rather than sprint straight for the exit.
Highlights & Activities
As with other extraction shooters, there’s more to do than simply grab and go. At launch, Arc Raiders offers a variety of side activities and emergent events:
- ARC hunts: track massive robotic bosses roaming the map for unique loot and XP.
- Dynamic events: salvage crashed satellites, hack ARC signal towers or escort supply convoys.
- Co‑op puzzles: interact with ancient vaults and multi‑stage machines that require your squad to coordinate switches and timers.
- Base building: use resources to upgrade your hub between raids with better crafting benches, storage, and cosmetics.
- Personalisation: unlock outfits and weapon skins through quests and the in‑game shop; the team emphasises that micro‑transactions are optional.
Why Arc Raiders Stands Out
From the outset, Embark promised to reimagine extraction shooters with large‑scale maps and hundreds of ARC machines sharing the playspace. During the final server‑slam playtest in mid‑October, players praised the chaotic emergent moments – like stumbling upon another squad battling a towering walker only to team up to take it down. Once live servers opened on 30 October, those systems held up impressively.
Embark also adds a persistent progression layer, allowing players to invest earned XP into universal perks like faster reloads, improved stamina regeneration, or better loot vision. This gives long‑term motivation beyond gear rarity. Meanwhile, the salvage system ensures even failed runs contribute to your growth.
Another key differentiator is the focus on teamwork and cross‑play. Arc Raiders launches across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S with full cross‑play matchmaking. Embark notes that player feedback from public tests directly shaped features like the salvage system and ping wheel. Combined with gorgeous art direction and sweeping soundscapes, it creates a world that begs exploration.
Launch Success and Early Reactions
The launch has been nothing short of spectacular. According to SteamDB, Arc Raiders peaked at 264,673 concurrent players on 30 October 2025 and still maintains well over 188,000 players online just days later. The same charts show an 88.05 % rating from over 14,500 user reviews – an impressive feat for a free‑to‑play shooter.
Part of that success stems from the game’s pricing and content philosophy. While many extraction shooters launch at a premium price, Arc Raiders is free to download, with monetisation limited to cosmetic and convenience items. This approach lowers the barrier for curious players and fosters a large day‑one community. Cross‑play ensures no platform is left behind, and performance has been mostly stable on all systems.
Of course, no launch is perfect. Some players note that matches can feel repetitive after a few sessions and that enemy AI occasionally gets stuck on terrain. Others feel the risk of losing all loot on death is still too punishing despite the salvage system, or that cosmetic pricing could be more generous. Embark has already pledged to roll out new maps, additional ARC enemy types, and seasonal updates. With such a strong foundation and immediate popularity, the community is optimistic that these tweaks will arrive quickly.
Final Thoughts
| What We Love | Concerns to Watch |
| Huge, dynamic environments filled with emergent encounters | Early repetition during extended play sessions |
| Smart risk/reward loop and forgiving salvage system | Occasional AI pathing issues and rough edges |
| Cross‑play and responsive shooting that feels weighty | Cosmetic pricing may be steep for some players |
| Strong performance across PC and consoles | Risk of losing gear is still stressful for newcomers |
Arc Raiders’ launch proves there’s still plenty of innovation to be mined from the extraction‑shooter formula. By blending the tension of survival games with drop‑in co‑op and a living world filled with massive robots, Embark has crafted an experience that feels both fresh and familiar. The staggering player numbers and positive reception suggest this could become a new staple alongside genre stalwarts like Escape from Tarkov and Warzone’s DMZ.
As a raider who survived his fair share of scrap-hunts, I’m excited to see how Embark evolves the world of Arc Raiders. If you’re looking for a free co-op shooter with weighty combat, giant robots, and the thrill of making it out alive with a bag full of loot, Arc Raiders is well worth the drop.
