Arc Raiders Player Count Skyrockets Past 125,000 on Steam

Did you notice Arc Raiders suddenly climbing the Steam charts? You're not alone. The game just hit a 24-hour peak of 131,388 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB. That's a number we haven't seen since April, and it blows past the 100,000 mark that's been missing since May.

For months, Arc Raiders hovered between 30,000 and 50,000 players on Steam. Embark Studios was in a quiet period, focusing on one big content drop instead of a bunch of smaller updates. That big bet was the Frozen Trail update, and early numbers suggest it's paying off.

But Frozen Trail isn't the only reason for the spike. Embark is treating this launch like a soft relaunch—executive producer Aleksander Grøndal even called it a "2.0 moment" for the game. To sweeten the deal, the studio made Arc Raiders free to play until October 12 and slapped a 50% discount on it. Sales and free weekends always pull in crowds, so the update had plenty of help.

Still, this turnout is impressive. It doesn't come close to the game's explosive launch numbers—nobody expected it to—but for a Thursday update, it's a strong response. With the weekend approaching, that peak could climb even higher.

In an interview, Grøndal also touched on the ongoing discourse around player counts in live service games. "Of course, it's not something that you look at and go, 'Oh, that feels great,'" he said. "That's not what I'm saying. But at the same time, you have to stick to your guns a bit when you make a decision. This is what we're going to do, and you have to believe that's the right approach. And, of course, we hope that works out."

It's worth remembering that Steam numbers only tell part of the story for a multiplatform game. As Pocketpair's John Buckley pointed out, players often misinterpret these figures. They're a useful signal of interest, but they can be overrated.

For now, though, Arc Raiders is riding high. The Frozen Trail patch also includes long-requested features—like the ability to open the map while downed—that players have been begging for. If you're one of the many jumping back in, you're in good company.

What do you think—will you be picking up Arc Raiders during the free weekend, or are you waiting for the next big update?