Heartipedia

Arc Raiders

Arc Raiders, which its maker styles ARC Raiders, is a multiplayer extraction shooter developed and published by Embark Studios and released on Oct 30, 2025 for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.[^1][^2] Players leave the underground colony of Speranza to scavenge a surface held by machines called ARC and must return alive to keep what they find.[^7] Nexon, which owns Embark, reported more than 16.3 million copies sold by Aug 13, 2026, and the game won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025.[^10][^9]

A squad on a job in the gameplay reveal Embark's Nov 12, 2024 gameplay reveal, marked as early tech test footage, follows a Raider heading for a seed vault in a research facility while squadmates hunt for medical supplies and parts, and a red flare marks a downed Raider nearby.

Developer and publisher
Embark Studios (Stockholm), a subsidiary of Nexon[1][3][9]
Released
Oct 30, 2025[1]
Platforms
Windows (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nvidia GeForce Now[2]
Genre
Multiplayer PvPvE extraction shooter, third-person only[5][37]
Business model
Premium game, announced at $40 on Aug 20, 2024, with paid cosmetics[7][35]
Copies sold
More than 16.3 million (Nexon, reported Aug 13, 2026)[10]
Steam reviews
81% positive of 204,737 English reviews (Very Positive)[1]
Latest patch
Hotfix 2.4.1, Nov 5, 2026[28][38]

Overview

Arc Raiders is a squad-based shooter in which players, called Raiders, leave the underground colony of Speranza for the surface to gather resources, while hostile machines called ARC and other players compete for the same loot.[7] Embark describes the setting as a post-post apocalypse, a distant future in which humanity has moved on and begun to build again.[7] The game is played only from a third-person view and has no traditional single-player or cooperative campaign; quests given by traders carry its story.[37] It is sold as a premium game on Steam and the Epic Games Store, on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and through Nvidia GeForce Now streaming, with crossplay between platforms.[2][37] Embark runs it as a live game: Frozen Trail, its largest update, arrived on Oct 8, 2026, and the newest patch as of Nov 7, 2026 is Hotfix 2.4.1, released on Nov 5, 2026.[20][28][38]

A squad on a job in the gameplay reveal Embark's Nov 12, 2024 gameplay reveal, marked as early tech test footage, follows a Raider heading for a seed vault in a research facility while squadmates hunt for medical supplies and parts, and a red flare marks a downed Raider nearby.

Development

Embark Studios revealed Arc Raiders with a trailer on Dec 10, 2021, presenting a squad of resistance fighters against a mechanized threat dropping from orbit and calling it the studio's first release, due in 2022.[3] In August 2022 the game moved to 2023 so that Embark could ship another team shooter first, then code-named Project Discovery, which became The Finals.[4][5] Patrick Söderlund, Embark's chief executive, said releasing two games in quick succession would have strained the studio's teams and resources.[4]

The first concept was a cooperative, raid-based player-versus-environment game with looting.[22] Söderlund later told Edge magazine that the team eventually concluded the game was not fun, and executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said it had moments of fun that did not consistently come together.[6] On May 16, 2023, Embark redescribed Arc Raiders as a PvPvE survival extraction shooter, said the delay had given the team time to build player-versus-player combat into it, and opened sign-ups for a closed alpha under a non-disclosure agreement, the first time outside players would try it.[5]

The decision to add PvP In Embark's documentary series, developers recall Söderlund arguing early on that the game needed player-versus-player combat, and the summer the team returned from a break to learn it was pivoting to a new genre, reusing environments, enemies and characters.

Business model and testing

At Gamescom Opening Night Live on Aug 20, 2024, Embark set a 2025 release and said Arc Raiders, first announced as free-to-play, would instead launch as a $40 premium game, a model Grøndal said fit the focused and balanced experience the team was building.[7] The same announcement scheduled a first public Tech Test on Steam for Oct 24 to Oct 27, 2024.[7] On Jun 6, 2025, on stage at Summer Game Fest in Los Angeles, Embark announced the release date of Oct 30, 2025, a month after a second Tech Test.[2] Embark said that test had shaped its last stretch of work: fixing bugs, tuning balance and the economy, and making the start easier for players new to the genre.[2] An open Server Slam test shortly before launch reached 189,668 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB figures reported by GamingBolt on Oct 20, 2025.[31]

Why the game dropped free-to-play A developer explains that leaving free-to-play let the team stop slowing players down: crafting lost its timers and the amount players are asked to collect was matched more closely to the reward.

Gameplay

Between outings, Raiders trade their finds with Speranza's traders, take on quests, improve their living quarters and develop their characters.[7] On the surface they scavenge for supplies that only count once they are carried back down alive, while ARC machines and rival Raiders stand in the way.[7] Raiders can play in a squad or alone, and Embark has said the game rewards planning and careful observation over charging in.[7] Meeting other players is an open choice: Embark's 2023 description asks whether a Raider who sees another being chased by drones would move in for the kill, help, or wait to pick over what remains.[5]

Another Raider asks not to be shot In the gameplay reveal, the squad reaches a pharmacy, checks its corners and meets a Raider who asks them not to shoot and offers to split the loot.

The ARC range from small machines to giant walkers, and Embark's first-year figures count more than 14.8 billion ARC destroyed by players, among them 3,920,595 Queens and more than 2,919,521 Matriarchs.[11] Frozen Trail added three new ARC, the Bully, the Skulker and the Hydra.[21] Expeditions are an optional progression track: a Raider completes a Caravan project, signs up during a scheduled window and departs in exchange for rewards such as extra stash space and skill points.[25]

The ARC machines Embark's Know Your Enemy trailer shows the ARC machines that Raiders face on the surface, from small flying units to large walkers.

Launch and sales

Arc Raiders came out on Oct 30, 2025.[1] PC Gamer reported that it had sold 4 million copies, making it the most successful global launch in Nexon's history.[32] Three weeks after release it set a Steam record of 480,000 concurrent players, according to PC Gamer; GamesBeat, citing Steamcharts, gives the record as 465,097.[33][11] Nexon reported 14 million copies sold in February 2026, and on Aug 13, 2026 more than 16.3 million, about 800,000 of them in the quarter to June, with cumulative revenue above 88 billion yen, about $551.6 million.[12][10] Nexon also said a closed alpha test in China, run with Tencent in July 2026, beat its registration target.[10]

Steam numbers fell through 2026: PC Guide gave a September figure of 33,543 concurrent players before Frozen Trail and a free weekend lifted the game to 131,388 on Oct 8, 2026.[30] Embark made the full game free to play from Oct 8 to Oct 12, 2026, ahead of its first anniversary.[29] GamesBeat reported a 219% rise in average Steam players over the month after Frozen Trail and about 69,000 players on Steam on Oct 30, 2026, when Embark said players had completed 6 billion rounds.[11]

Updates after launch

Embark planned content updates every month after launch.[18] On May 13, 2026, Grøndal wrote that running at that pace was not sustainable and that major updates would instead come twice a year, each larger, while a dedicated live team kept handling balance, bug fixes, store updates and events.[18][19] He said the extra time would go to progression, economy balancing, fair play and anti-cheat work, and improvements to Trials and Expeditions.[18]

Six months for one update Embark's documentary recounts the decision, a few months into 2026, to stop monthly updates and spend six months on one larger update, Frozen Trail, and says the team saw its reception as essential to the community's confidence.

Frozen Trail, version 2.0, arrived on Oct 8, 2026, and Embark called it its biggest update since launch.[20] It added the Pendola Pass map, the Frigate and Redirection map conditions, the Bantam and Stiletto weapons, Amplified Weapons, a revamped skill tree, an Outpost with a Research Bench, 22 quests and a Reward Pass system, and it raised the maximum stash to 328 slots before Expedition bonuses.[20] Its patch notes also removed the Solo vs. Squads matchmaking option while Embark re-evaluated its role.[21] Live Update 2.3.0 on Oct 27, 2026 ended the weekly fixes that had followed Frozen Trail and returned the game to fixes every three weeks and weekly store updates.[27] Hotfix 2.4.1 on Nov 5, 2026 added Ukrainian as a supported language.[28]

Frozen Trail, the biggest update Shortly before release, Embark's documentary introduces Frozen Trail: the large new map Pendola Pass, new ARC enemies, weapons, gadgets and outposts, shaped by lessons from a year of running the live game.

Expeditions, PvE and cheating

On Aug 21, 2026, Embark said the fifth Expedition, open from Sep 8 to Sep 29, 2026, would be the last until early 2027, when Expeditions return with major improvements aimed at players' biggest complaints.[25] In a Sep 24, 2026 post, it said 51% of surveyed players wanted a separate player-versus-environment option, and announced a test while stating that it was not a promise of a future PvE mode.[22] The toggle ran from Oct 13 to Oct 20, 2026, with servers that had no player-to-player damage and lower overall loot value, and with some conditions, among them Night Raid and Frigate, left out.[23] Embark counted more than 30 million PvE rounds, called the reaction polarizing on a surface reading and said it expected to share more in November.[24] As of Nov 7, 2026, it had posted no decision.[38] On Sep 30, 2026, Embark said it should have handled first-time cheaters differently and that any account caught using cheats is now permanently banned.[26]

Reception and awards

Critics received Arc Raiders well: as of Nov 7, 2026, Metacritic gave it 86 on PC from 57 reviews, 85 on PlayStation 5 and 88 on Xbox Series X, and OpenCritic a Top Critic Average of 87, with 91% of critics recommending it.[15][14] Metacritic's user score was 7.3 from 1,881 ratings.[15] On Steam, 81% of 204,737 English-language reviews were positive, while reviews from the previous 30 days were 72% positive.[1] The game won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025, accepted in Los Angeles by art director Robert Sammelin.[9] It also won Online Game of the Year at the 29th D.I.C.E. Awards in February 2026 and Multiplayer at the BAFTA Games Awards in April 2026, where Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took Best Game.[12][13] It won Most Innovative Gameplay in The Steam Awards 2025.[1]

How the reception felt inside Embark Developers describe the launch reception as humbling and dizzying, far beyond what they had expected while making the game.

Controversies

The most debated choice was Embark's use of generative AI for voices: Stefan Strandberg, Embark's chief creative officer, confirmed it before launch, saying it let a small studio make content faster and would not replace actors.[16] Eurogamer's Rick Lane gave the game 2 out of 5 and called that use contemptuous, and developers and artists on Bluesky called for a boycott.[16] In March 2026 Söderlund said actors are paid for all their booth time and separately for licensing their voices to text-to-speech, which is used mostly for lines such as the ping system, and that some lines had been re-recorded with actors after launch, adding that "a real professional actor is better than AI".[17] Players also criticized expensive cosmetic bundles and the lack of a way to earn premium currency in play, and Embark later reduced some cosmetic prices and compensated players who had already spent Raider Tokens, as GamesRadar+ reported.[34][35]

Embark Studios

Embark Studios was founded in November 2018 by Magnus Nordin, Rob Runesson, Stefan Strandberg, Patrick Söderlund, Jenny Huldschiner and Johan Andersson, and it is based in Stockholm.[8][3] Nexon invested in the studio in 2018 and later bought all of its shares, making it a wholly owned subsidiary.[9] Its only other released game is The Finals, the team shooter that Arc Raiders was delayed for.[8][4] In its 2021 reveal post, Embark said it had set out to adopt technologies that remove obstacles to creativity in making games.[3] Nexon said in August 2026 that two more Embark games were in development.[10] On Oct 30, 2026, Embark's anniversary post gave players a free in-game gift and said the team was already at work on what comes next, without naming the next update.[36]

Timeline

  1. Embark reveals Arc Raiders, due in 2022.[3]
  2. Game Informer reports the delay to 2023 so that Project Discovery, later The Finals, can come first.[4]
  3. Embark redescribes the game as a PvPvE survival extraction shooter and opens closed alpha sign-ups.[5]
  4. At Gamescom, Embark sets a 2025 release and drops free-to-play for a $40 premium model.[7]
  5. The first public Tech Test opens on Steam, through Oct 27.[7]
  6. The Oct 30, 2025 release date is announced at Summer Game Fest.[2]
  7. The Server Slam open test is reported at a Steam peak of 189,668 players.[31]
  8. Arc Raiders launches.[1]
  9. It wins Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025.[9]
  10. It wins Online Game of the Year at the 29th D.I.C.E. Awards.[12]
  11. Embark moves to two major content updates a year.[18]
  12. Nexon reports more than 16.3 million copies sold.[10]
  13. The fifth Expedition departs, the last until early 2027.[25]
  14. Frozen Trail, update 2.0, is released, with a free weekend through Oct 12.[20][29]
  15. The PvE toggle test begins, running to Oct 20.[23]
  16. The game marks its first anniversary.[36]
  17. Hotfix 2.4.1 is released.[28]

What we think

This section is Heartipedia’s own opinion, not sourced fact. Each view is reasoned from the facts cited above and from trends we see; it may turn out wrong. A prediction’s words are never changed once made: when the facts are known we add the result under it, right or wrong. Every prediction we have made.

The spring update brings Expeditions back with an eighth map

We expect Embark's next major update to arrive in April 2027, about six months after Frozen Trail. We expect Expeditions to return in that update, not before it, and we expect it to add a new map.

Why: Embark said on May 13, 2026 that major updates now come twice a year, and Frozen Trail, the first of them, came on Oct 8, 2026. It promised Expeditions back in early 2027 with major improvements, and a rework of rewards and progression is the kind of change it now saves for the big updates. Frozen Trail added Pendola Pass, so a map is the expected centerpiece.

Prediction Confidence: Likely Check by: May 2027 Made

PvE returns, but only as a side queue

We expect Embark to keep a PvE option for good, as a separate queue limited to some maps or conditions, not a switch on every raid. We think it goes live with the spring 2027 update.

Why: Half of the players Embark surveyed wanted a separate PvE option, and the week-long test drew more than 30 million PvE rounds. Embark also called the result polarizing and the test no promise, and the test already left out conditions such as Night Raid and Frigate. A limited queue is the compromise that answers both sides without emptying the PvPvE lobbies the game was rebuilt around.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Jun 2027 Made

A Chinese release with Tencent

We expect Arc Raiders to launch commercially in mainland China, operated with Tencent, before the end of 2027.

Why: Nexon reported that a closed alpha test in China, run with Tencent in July 2026, beat its registration target. A test that goes well with a local operator is usually the step before a launch, and the Western audience has been shrinking between big updates, which makes a new market more valuable.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Dec 2027 Made

Embark's next game is set in the Rust Belt

We expect at least one of Embark's two unannounced games to be revealed before the end of 2027 and to be set in Arc Raiders' world. We think it will not be another extraction shooter.

Why: Nexon said in August 2026 that two more Embark games are in development, and Arc Raiders has become the studio's biggest success. Its world has always been Embark's anchor, in Grøndal's own framing, and a hit universe is the cheapest place to start a second game. We call it a long shot because Embark has never said what the two games are.

Prediction Confidence: Long shot Check by: Dec 2027 Made

Eighteen million by February

We expect Nexon to report at least 18 million copies of Arc Raiders sold in its results for the last quarter of 2026.

Why: Nexon reported more than 16.3 million on Aug 13, 2026, with about 800,000 sold in a quiet quarter. Frozen Trail, a free weekend, the first anniversary and the holidays all fall in the next two quarters, and the average number of Steam players rose 219% in the month after Frozen Trail.

Prediction Confidence: Possible Check by: Mar 2027 Made

Dropping free-to-play was Embark's best decision

We think charging for Arc Raiders was the single best call Embark made. We think the game is good because it stopped being built to keep players grinding.

Why: Embark's developers say leaving free-to-play let them remove crafting timers and match effort to reward, and the paid game then sold more than 16.3 million copies and earned over 88 billion yen by the end of June 2026. The backlash over expensive cosmetic bundles shows the one place where it still thinks like a free-to-play game, and that is where we think it is weakest.

Opinion Made

Moments

  1. A squad on a job in the gameplay reveal Embark's Nov 12, 2024 gameplay reveal, marked as early tech test footage, follows a Raider heading for a seed vault in a research facility while squadmates hunt for medical supplies and parts, and a red flare marks a downed Raider nearby.
  2. The decision to add PvP In Embark's documentary series, developers recall Söderlund arguing early on that the game needed player-versus-player combat, and the summer the team returned from a break to learn it was pivoting to a new genre, reusing environments, enemies and characters.
  3. Why the game dropped free-to-play A developer explains that leaving free-to-play let the team stop slowing players down: crafting lost its timers and the amount players are asked to collect was matched more closely to the reward.
  4. Another Raider asks not to be shot In the gameplay reveal, the squad reaches a pharmacy, checks its corners and meets a Raider who asks them not to shoot and offers to split the loot.
  5. The ARC machines Embark's Know Your Enemy trailer shows the ARC machines that Raiders face on the surface, from small flying units to large walkers.
  6. Six months for one update Embark's documentary recounts the decision, a few months into 2026, to stop monthly updates and spend six months on one larger update, Frozen Trail, and says the team saw its reception as essential to the community's confidence.
  7. Frozen Trail, the biggest update Shortly before release, Embark's documentary introduces Frozen Trail: the large new map Pendola Pass, new ARC enemies, weapons, gadgets and outposts, shaped by lessons from a year of running the live game.
  8. How the reception felt inside Embark Developers describe the launch reception as humbling and dizzying, far beyond what they had expected while making the game.

References

  1. ARC Raiders on Steam, Steamprimary
  2. ARC Raiders releases October 30, 2025, Embark Studios, 2025-06-06primary
  3. ARC Raiders | Reveal Trailer, Embark Studios, 2021-12-10primary
  4. Embark Studios Delays Arc Raiders To 2023 To Focus On Team Shooter Project Discovery, Game Informer, 2022-08-09press
  5. What's next for ARC Raiders, Embark Studios, 2023-05-16primary
  6. ARC Raiders delay explained: Embark says the game was not fun, Insider Gaming, 2025-10-03press
  7. ARC Raiders is Coming in 2025: PC Playtesting Starts This Fall, Embark Studios, 2024-08-20primary
  8. About, Embark Studiosprimary
  9. Nexon claims TGA: ARC Raiders wins Best Multiplayer Game, Sports Khan, 2025-12-12press
  10. Nexon reports ARC Raiders surpassed 16.3M sold in June quarter, GamesBeat, 2026-08-13press
  11. Embark shares ARC Raiders play data after a year: 6 billion rounds played, GamesBeat, 2026-10-30press
  12. ARC Raiders Wins Online Game of the Year at The DICE Awards, Nexon (GamesPress), 2026-02-13primary
  13. All the winners of the BAFTA Games Awards 2026, NME, 2026-04-20press
  14. ARC Raiders reviews, OpenCriticpress
  15. ARC Raiders, Metacriticpress
  16. ARC Raiders Is Facing Boycotts for its Use of AI Content, Gfinity Esports, 2025-11-11press
  17. ARC Raiders Takes Steps to Address AI-Related Voice Acting, Embark Issues Statement, GamingBolt, 2026-03-14press
  18. Changes to the ARC Raiders update schedule, Embark Studios, 2026-05-13primary
  19. We're changing how we update ARC Raiders: here's what it means for you, Embark Studios, 2026-05-13primary
  20. Frozen Trail: 2.0 Update, Embark Studios, 2026-10-08primary
  21. Frozen Trail 2.0 Update patch notes, Embark Studios, 2026-10-08primary
  22. PvE Toggle Beta Test, Embark Studios, 2026-09-24primary
  23. PvE Toggle Beta Test: October 13-20, Embark Studios, 2026-10-13primary
  24. PvE Matchmaking Toggle Test: Thanks for taking part!, Embark Studios, 2026-10-20primary
  25. The 5th Expedition, Embark Studios, 2026-08-21primary
  26. An Update on Anti-Cheat, Embark Studios, 2026-09-30primary
  27. Live Update 2.3.0, Embark Studios, 2026-10-27primary
  28. Hotfix 2.4.1, Embark Studios, 2026-11-05primary
  29. Play ARC Raiders for FREE from Oct 8 to Oct 12, Embark Studios, 2026-10-02primary
  30. ARC Raiders Steam player count is the highest it's been in six months thanks to 2.0 update and free weekend, PC Guide, 2026-10-09press
  31. ARC Raiders Server Slam Peaks at Nearly 190,000 Concurrent Steam Players, GamingBolt, 2025-10-20press
  32. Arc Raiders sells 4 million copies, making it the most successful global launch in Nexon's history, PC Gamerpress
  33. Arc Raiders hits a new record after three weeks, scoring 480,000 concurrent players on Steam, PC Gamerpress
  34. Arc Raiders catches heat over expensive cosmetic bundles and lack of earnable premium currency, GamesRadar+press
  35. Arc Raiders improves duo matchmaking and is reducing some cosmetic prices after backlash, GamesRadar+press
  36. One year anniversary of ARC Raiders: Thanks for being here!, Embark Studios, 2026-10-30primary
  37. ARC Raiders: free to play, crossplay, campaign and other FAQs, Game Rant, 2025-10-29press
  38. News, Embark Studiosprimary

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About this page

Drafted by
claude-opus-5-5 on 2026-11-07T12:00:00Z
Checked by
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Reviewed by
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Status
Published and revised continuously; this version is the one described here.
Published
7 November 2026
Last updated
7 November 2026, see what changed
Sources
No Wikipedia source; the sources are listed above.
License
Text CC BY-SA 4.0; embedded videos and thumbnails remain their uploaders’ property, shown under YouTube’s Terms of Service; quotations excluded. Details

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