Watch out Battlefield 6, ARC Raiders has already hit dizzy Steam heights

Battlefield 6 has been a hot topic as of late because many thought it’d finally topple Call of Duty as the massive, multiplayer first-person shooter.

It started off strong with a playercount peak of 747,440 on Steam and despite a few balancing issues and complaints from players about in-game skins the game was a success.

While it remains a success on paper a lot of players have taken issue with the game’s new battle-royale mode, REDSEC, which many are saying is a blatant copy of Call of Duty: Warzone.

Battlefield 6’s playercount hasn’t been massively affected by the new mode but it could be the game’s downfall as there’s now another first-person shooter dominating Steam.

ARC Raiders launched today and within its first hour of being live it already amassed over 150,000 players, and it continues to grow.

In case you’ve never heard of ARC Raiders before it’s description says it’s a “multiplayer, extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.”

If you like extraction shooters it’s probably your cup of tea, and clearly it’s gone down well with a lot of players so far.

Will it become more popular than Battlefield 6? Probably not. Battlefield 6 will likely appeal to a broader audience and because the series has been around for so long it’s got appeal to a wide variety of gamers. That loyalty is hard to come by if you haven’t got history.

However ARC Raiders is clearly doing something right so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the game be a big player in 2026.

Battlefield 6’s real test will be Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 which launches in November, complete with a new campaign, multiplayer and of course Zombies. Call of Duty: Warzone will also continue as normal.

Embark Studios

What Will Black Ops 7 Have That Battlefield 6 Doesn’t?

The success of both game’s multiplayers will come down to player preference. If you like large-scale conflict Battlefield is probably your go-to game but if you want more competitive fun Call of Duty will likely have you covered.

What Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will have though is the Zombies mode, and judging from the trailer I’d imagine the campaign will be more exciting than what Battlefield 6 gave us.

Only time will tell, but there’s more than enough room on your console hard drives for all of these great first-person shooters right?

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