ARC Raiders beat Battlefield 6 on Steam.
ARC Raiders Beats Battlefield 6 in Peak Steam Player Battle
Embark's new extraction shooter, ARC Raiders, surges past Battlefield 6 in peak concurrent Steam players, proving to be a top contender this holiday season.
Highlights
- Newcomer ARC Raiders recently beat Battlefield 6 in peak concurrent Steam players.
- The game's "less stressful" and solo-friendly formula is attracting a large audience.
- While Battlefield 6 holds the all-time peak record, ARC Raiders is growing rapidly.
In a significant shake-up for the holiday shooter season, Embark Studios' new extraction shooter, ARC Raiders, has officially overtaken EA's heavyweight Battlefield 6 in peak concurrent players on Steam. The milestone, a hot topic over the weekend, saw the new $40 title surge past the $70 industry giant, proving that the new IP from Battlefield veterans is a true top contender for 2025.
According to figures from SteamDB, ARC Raiders surged to a new all-time peak of 462,488 concurrent players. During that same period, Battlefield 6 posted a peak of around 430,000 players. This achievement has firmly pushed ARC Raiders into the third most-played spot on Steam, just behind mainstays Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2, bumping Battlefield 6 down to the fourth spot.
The success of ARC Raiders is being linked to its more accessible, "less stressful", and solo-player-friendly approach to the extraction genre. While Battlefield 6 retains a strong player base, bolstered by its free-to-play mode Battlefield RedSec, its premium $70 price tag and established formula are facing stiff competition from the newcomer.
The unique formula of ARC Raiders seems to be more popular among shooter fans right now, attracting both new and veteran players to its rapidly growing community.
Battlefield 6 Still Holds All-Time Peak Record
It is important to note that Battlefield 6, which launched earlier on October 10, still holds the record for a higher all-time peak with over 747,000 players. However, the recent weekend figures show a clear victory for ARC Raiders in current player engagement.
Its 462,488-player peak marks a new record for the young franchise, which has been out for less than two weeks. This data only represents PC players on Steam, as both titles are also available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
ARC Raiders has seen rapid growth since hitting over 200,000 players on day one and surpassing 350,000 in its first week. Despite some early server struggles, Embark has kept its new community engaged with content drops like the Hidden Bunker event and Electromagnetic Storm weather conditions.
While some players in the community are debating the need for a PvE-only mode, it's clear Embark has found a winning formula that is successfully capturing a massive piece of the PC shooter market.
Author
Krishna Goswami is a content writer at Outlook India, where she delves into the vibrant worlds of pop culture, gaming, and esports. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) with a PG Diploma in English Journalism, she brings a strong journalistic foundation to her work. Her prior newsroom experience equips her to deliver sharp, insightful, and engaging content on the latest trends in the digital world.
Krishna Goswami is a content writer at Outlook India, where she delves into the vibrant worlds of pop culture, gaming, and esports. A graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC) with a PG Diploma in English Journalism, she brings a strong journalistic foundation to her work. Her prior newsroom experience equips her to deliver sharp, insightful, and engaging content on the latest trends in the digital world.
