ARC Raiders dwarfs Escape from Tarkov in first weekend of head-to-head on Steam

Michael Hassall Published November 17, 2025

Sci-fi extraction shooter ARC Raiders has once again reached new heights as the extraction shooter surpassed 480,000 concurrent users on Sunday, Nov. 16. It marks the second weekend of peak users, a huge milestone for any game, but especially a live service title like ARC Raiders.

Embark Studios’ shooter found itself going head-to-head with genre rival Escape from Tarkov, which had its Steam debut on Nov. 15. However, with user reviews panning the Steam version, and Tarkov’s 1.0 release, it seems players are far preferring the more extraction-lite feeling of ARC Raiders, and are voting with their wallet and their free-time.

Escape from Tarkov. Image credit: Battlestate Games

ARC Raiders surges and Tarkov falls as the extraction shooter war kicks off

ARC Raiders hit 481,966 concurrent players on Sunday, with the game consistently sitting in the top four of all Steam games played, surpassed only by free-to-play titles including Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, and PUBG. Estimates put the total purchase number of ARC Raiders as approximately 3.9 million, with some sites saying it’s broken the 4 million mark.

In comparison, the more storied extraction shooter, Escape from Tarkov, hit just 47,800 players on Steam. While user numbers might be much higher due to Battlestate Games having its own launcher which it has utilized since 2017, long queues and seemingly deserted maps in-game told a different story.

Image Credit: Embark Studios

Tarkov, which has now released its 1.0 version (the game has been in beta since 2017), drew criticism for still having bugs that have been in the game for years and performance issues. Beyond this, many users have already paid $60 for the game in previous releases, only to now have to purchase it a second time if they want to play the game on Steam.

Still, Tarkov does have its saving graces. The game’s expansive story has been developing for eight years now, and its setting, a dark Chernobyl and Stalker-inspired post-apocalypse, has instant charm. And the gun play and weapons handling is second to none.

As a result, many fans of the extraction genre have naturally been drawn to ARC Raiders as a more compelling experience. We’d have to agree with them, ARC Raiders is fresh and exciting, with new players, new content, and new emergent gameplay. And it seems the majority of the Steam community agrees with us.

Featured Image Credit: Screenshot Jaxon.gg via Embark Studios