Goodbye Battle Royale, ARC Raiders is Launching a New Type of Hype

The reign of the battle royale may finally be over, with ARC Raiders helping to propel another long-standing genre.

Whenever the next hyped video game arrives, it often goes one of three ways. It’s a flash in the pan, enjoying success at launch that quickly dies, or it’s lightning in a bottle, garnering success for a good amount of time. However, it can also be a total flop, such as Sony’s colossal misstep, Concord.

At the end of October, the highly anticipated extraction multiplayer shooter from the indie team at Embark Studios, ARC Raiders, finally arrived, and it’s enjoying huge success across all available platforms, benefiting from its crossplay.

“In ARC Raiders, gameplay flows between the surface ruled by lethal machines and the vibrant underground society of Speranza,” reads the synopsis of the game.

“Craft, repair, and upgrade your gear in the safety of your own workshop, before venturing topside to scavenge the remnants of a devastated but beautiful world. Play solo or in parties up to three, navigating the constant threat of ARC's machines and the unpredictable choices of fellow survivors. In the end, only you decide what kind of Raider you are - and how far you’ll go to prevail.”

ARC Raiders, Embark Studios

There’s always an element of risk with multiplayer shooters with no single-player story campaign. Gamers might see a shooter to be less of a product if it's multiplayer-only, despite ARC Raiders being playable solo, but the real fun to be had, and the way in which you’ll get the most out of the game, is with its multiplayer offering.

Yet, despite being a multiplayer-focused shooter, ARC Raiders has been knocking it out of the park since its launch in October. According to SteamDB, ARC Raiders currently has an all-time concurrent player peak of 462,488 and a 24-hour peak of 386,160.

Of course, these numbers are for the PC platform, Steam, but there’s a good chance that while the numbers are likely different, it’s also likely a reflection of consoles.

Over the years, we’ve seen tons of developers and publishers trying to get a slice of Fortnite's battle royale pie, and despite having a few exceptions, such as Call of Duty: Warzone, those attempts often result in being proverbially pie-faced.

Will ARC Raiders inspire the extraction shooter genre?

The extraction shooter genre is not new; it’s been around for years. The likes of Escape from Tarkov, Delta Force and Arena: Breakout Infinite, to name a few, are already making a stand.

However, ARC Raiders might just trigger an influx of developers and publishers wanting a slice of that genre pie, attempting to capitalise on the recent hype, with a heavy dose of an envious green-eyed monster.

“Kinda feels like ARC Raiders might be a Fortnite moment,” tweeted Twitter user MoonOverlord.

“You get a new game every five or so years that stands the test of time,” who makes a very good point.

“I think what ARC Raiders did best was make the extraction genre appealing to people who aren't really familiar with it. With solid content drops, it can stay relevant for a long time, in my opinion,” replied DZSHGaming.

“It's incredible and is introducing so many people to the thrill and risk of extraction shooters,” said diamonds4cubes. “I love every raid, whether I die or extract, I have no gear fear because of how casual it is and how thrilling each raid can be. Truly one of a kind experience.”

“It's so good it's ridiculous,” declared TraumCap.

ARC Raiders is out now on PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.