by Game of Review Team · published 2026-10-29 · updated 2026-10-29
Embark Studios' extraction shooter ARC Raiders just passed its one-year anniversary on Steam, and instead of fading out the way a lot of live-service shooters do after launch month, it's still pulling in new players. The game has sold past 16 million copies, holds a Very Positive rating from nearly 200,000 reviews (around 82% positive), and right now the base game is marked down to $19.99 from its usual $39.99.
What it actually is
ARC Raiders is a third-person extraction shooter set on a ruined future Earth overrun by hostile machines called ARC. Solo or in parties of up to three, you drop into one of several maps, scavenge gear, fight off both the machines and rival squads of players, and try to get your loot out the door before you die and lose it all. There's a skill tree split across survival, mobility, and conditioning, a crafting and workshop setup back at base, and trader quests that give the looting a bit of shape instead of leaving it pure chaos.
Why the timing matters
Earlier this year Embark said it was moving away from a constant drip of monthly patches toward just two major updates a year, betting that bigger, less frequent drops would land better than a content treadmill. Frozen Trail is the first real test of that plan: a winter map overhaul and new player content, with a cosmetic-loaded Collector Set for anyone who wants the full package.
- Base game: $19.99 (50% off $39.99), at the time of writing
- Deluxe Edition: $59.99
- Frozen Trail Collector Set: $29.99
Who it's for: anyone who likes their loot runs with real stakes should take the sale price as the nudge to finally jump in, since the entry cost just dropped at the exact moment there's new content to chase.
Our take
ARC Raiders earning a one-year sale right as its first big content update lands is a smart bit of scheduling, not luck, and it's the kind of move that rewards people who waited out the initial hype cycle. What's more interesting than the discount is that Embark deliberately slowed its own update cadence to two drops a year instead of chasing a live-service treadmill, which is a bet that quality can beat frequency. If Frozen Trail lands well, it's a useful data point for other extraction shooters drowning their players in small, forgettable patches.
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