Arc Raiders Is Officially a Hit - and We’re Living Through One of the Best Years in Gaming

It finally happened. Arc Raiders - the long-awaited extraction shooter from Embark Studios - isn't just a success, it's a full-blown hit. The game just smashed through Battlefield 6's numbers, hitting a new peak of 462,488 concurrent players on Steam over the weekend, passing its own launch record from just a few days earlier. That puts it right behind Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG on Valve's charts. Not bad for a brand-new IP that came out swinging.

It's also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, though those numbers aren't public - meaning the true count is probably even higher. The game's blend of sci-fi world-building, extraction-style tension, and cinematic polish clearly hit the sweet spot. Embark Studios deserves the win.

However…

Of course, no major gaming success comes without a little drama. Streamer Shroud called on his fans to vote Arc Raiders as Game of the Year 2025 over Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, saying multiplayer gamers are “the minority.” Cue the outrage. People demanded apologies, cancellations, think pieces - the works. But honestly? It’s just one guy’s opinion. He likes what he likes. You don’t have to agree, but maybe let’s all take a breath before turning every GOTY debate into a Twitter war.

Personally, I think Arc Raiders absolutely deserves recognition - especially for its sound design and multiplayer execution - but this year has been so stacked with incredible games that arguing over which one deserves a trophy feels like missing the point.

We got Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Hollow Knight: Silksong. Hades 2. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach. Donkey Kong Bananza. Ghost of Yōtei. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Monster Hunter Wilds. Blue Prince. Split Fiction. Silent Hill f. And probably a few I’ve already forgotten.