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According to Rhys Elliott of the Alinea Insight newsletter, Arc Raiders has already sold 2.5 million copies since releasing on October 30th. This has resulted in a gross revenue of over $100 million, and the game has become an instant fan-favorite with streamers such as Shroud arguing it should win Game of the Year at Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards in December.
Per the Alinea Insight newsletter, Arc Raiders’ playerbase is primarily PC with 69.2% playing on Steam, 17.3% on PS5, and 13.5% on Xbox. We already know its Steam player count is impressive as during its first weekend it reached a peak concurrent of over 350,000. This was nearly double the free-to-play Server Slam and it’s over 100,000 more than the highest Embark’s free-to-play The Finals has ever achieved.
There was scepticism when Embark announced at Gamescom 2024 that Arc Raiders would no longer release free-to-play, and then there was even more scepticism following the game’s decision to release between the launches of Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty Black Ops 7. However, the game has been a huge success so far, and hopefully the momentum will continue into next year as Embark tease “ambitious post-launch plans” for 2026.
Streamer Shroud Thinks Arc Raiders Should Win Game of the Year
Arc Raiders is pulling incredibly impressive viewership numbers on Twitch with streams eclipsing over 100,000 views combined, way more than Battlefield 6. The game’s popularity is undoubtable, and streamer, Shroud, has rallied fans in an effort for Embark to win Game of the Year.
In a Twitch clip, Shroud said, “We got to make sure this game [Arc Raiders] wins Game of the Year by the way, do not let that Expedition 33 game win Game of the Year”. Shroud added, “Us multiplayer gamers are the minority, but I believe we can win… I’ve never voted for anything ever, but I think I’m going to vote this year for this game”. Humorously, Shroud ended his rallying cry saying, “It’s not like votes actually matter anyway, all the f****ng awards are rigged anyway”.
For the coveted Game of the Year prize, fan votes only make up 10% and Arc Raiders would need to be one of the six nominees. On the other hand, Players’ Voice is entirely based on fan vote and is the more likely avenue for Arc Raiders.
As for whether it should even be in contention to win Game of the Year has ignited a debate online. Forbes’ Paul Tassi believes yes, posting, “multiplayer games *are* often overlooked in the GOTY conversation… Expedition 33 should and will win, but I don’t think people need to be like, offended by this notion that ARC deserves this level of praise”.
However, most of the reaction has been negative with people saying Arc Raiders is good but it’s not a “piece of art”. A lot of people also took exception with Shroud dismissing Clair Obscur Expedition 33 as “that game” when in many people’s eyes it’s a masterpiece. Palworld developer Bucky has hailed Arc Raiders as the new benchmark for Unreal Engine games development, but even they are not rooting for Embark.
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