Despite the formal Steam arrival of the extraction shooter pioneer 'Escape from Tarkov' on the 15th, the momentum for ARC Raiders shows no signs of slowing down. The game saw its concurrent player count climb throughout the weekend, hitting a new peak of over 480,000 on the 17th.

ARC Raiders hit the ground running with 260,000 concurrent players on its October 30 launch day. It then surged to 350,000 on November 2, crossed 460,000 on the 9th, and reached 481,966 by the 17th. The real kicker is that this growth persisted even after its genre predecessor, Escape from Tarkov, launched on the platform. To make matters worse for the newcomer, Escape from Tarkov was plagued by server issues, leaving many players unable to log in—a frustration that quickly bubbled over into a wave of negative user reviews.

While both games share the same DNA, the actual experience is quite distinct. They both revolve around scavenging and extracting from hostile zones, but ARC Raiders leans heavily into PvE, pitting you against both rivals and the mechanical 'ARC' units. While Escape from Tarkov prides itself on hyper-realistic ballistics, complex injury management, and intricate gunsmithing, ARC Raiders opts for a streamlined, punchier approach to action that makes the barrier to entry much lower for the average player.

Furthermore, ARC Raiders has been winning praise for its stable performance, even on Unreal Engine 5. In contrast, Escape from Tarkov is being criticised for its dated visuals and shaky optimization. You can even find user reviews for ARC Raiders explicitly pointing out the absence of the game-breaking errors that currently plague their experience in Escape from Tarkov.

ARC Raiders expanded its horizons on the 13th with the new 'Stellar Montis' map and two additional types of ARC units. Looking ahead to December, the team has teased a blizzard-themed map environment and a fresh batch of quests.

Meanwhile, the global charts saw the terraforming survival hit The Planet Crafter leap to the top following its 'Corrupted Planet' DLC launch and a hefty 50% discount. Elsewhere, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a nominee for The Game Awards 2025, has climbed to the 7th spot.

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