Every year, a handful of surprise hits rise from obscurity to dominate the Steam charts, but few manage to hold the top spot for weeks on end. Yet that’s exactly what the newest breakout shooter has accomplished, climbing past major AAA releases and long-standing live-service giants. Its momentum hasn’t slowed, its player counts continue to surge, and word of mouth has turned it into one of the biggest gaming talking points of 2025. For fans of competitive action, survival gameplay, co-op chaos, or precision gunplay, this new FPS is shaping up to be the genre’s next major contender, with many even considering it Game of the Year.
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For nearly a month straight, Arc Raiders has dominated the top of Steam’s charts, but in terms of player count and sales. Developer Embark Studios confirmed that over 700K concurrent players have played Arc Raiders, which is no surprise considering the reception to the game. Streamers have only boosted the number of players interested in the game.
At the time of writing, Arc Raiders is the second-best seller on Steam and remains among the top five in daily active users. Considering the game released on October 30th, this is all the more impressive. Dominating the charts for nearly a month isn’t an easy task, especially considering how stacked 2025 has been for incredible games.
What’s even more impressive is how the game manages to appeal to both casual players and hardcore shooter fans. Its onboarding is smooth enough for newcomers, while advanced mechanics, meta-driven builds, and high-end challenges keep veterans grinding for more. Add in polished visuals, strong performance optimization, and a steady rollout of hotfixes, and it’s clear why the community has embraced it so quickly.
Another key factor behind its month-long sales streak is its business model. The developers have avoided overbearing monetization and thankfully adjusted cosmetic pricing after fan feedback. With no pay-to-win mechanics and no confusing early-access restrictions, the package feels complete, confident, and fairly priced. That transparency has built trust and helped the game spread through recommendations rather than advertisements alone.
It remains to be seen if Arc Raiders will continue to dominate, but as Embark Studios has already released one major content update and regularly made adjustments to the game, things point to its long-term success. Embark’s other game, The Finals, was also well-received, but not to the extent that Arc Raiders has been.
2025 has been an incredible year for releases, many of which have been single-player titles. These often see huge peaks and level out at a respectable number as the initial player. Multiplayer games typically see larger player counts within the first few months, but sometimes drop off as players move to other games.
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