Despite mixed opinions on Arc Raiders' use of AI for NPC voices, the game has undeniably made a significant impact, revitalizing the extraction shooter genre for casual gamers and even attracting veteran players from older live services. It has now achieved a remarkable milestone that highlights its status as one of the leading online shooters to watch.
On January 13th, developer Embark Studios revealed through its social channels that Arc Raiders has amassed over 12 million players to date, translating to over 12 million copies sold. This success is attributed to the studio's commitment to a premium entry model, which has proven fruitful. Reports suggested a specific figure of 12.4 million copies sold within just ten weeks. Additionally, the game recorded an impressive 960,000 concurrent players across all platforms in January 2026.
For Embark Studios, a key achievement lies in player retention, which has remained strong even amid the success of Battlefield 6 and the attention that would typically gravitate towards Call of Duty following the letdown of Black Ops 7.
To commemorate this achievement, Embark Studios is rewarding all players who logged in between launch and 23:59 CET on January 13th with a Gilded Pickaxe Raider Tool, which will automatically appear in their inventory upon logging into the game. The update is being deployed today.
Arc Raiders has also contributed to Steam reaching a new record for concurrent users earlier this month, successfully competing alongside established titles such as Counter-Strike 2, DOTA 2, and PUBG: Battlegrounds. This is truly an impressive success.
With PlayStation and Bungie's upcoming Marathon aiming to capture a similar audience in March, it's possible that the influx of players drawn to PvPvE shooters following Arc Raiders could be a fortunate development for the industry.
What lies ahead for this emerging franchise? Perhaps a movie adaptation is on the horizon.
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