Arc Raiders Ends ‘Server Slam’ Playtest With Big Steam Concurrents, Suggesting Strong Launch Ahead

Arc Raiders has ended its ‘Server Slam’ playtest with a big peak concurrent player number on Steam, suggesting a strong launch is ahead.

The open Server Slam ran over the weekend on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. It offered the final chance to play Embark Studios’ extraction shooter ahead of its October 30 release date.

On Steam, Arc Raiders hit a peak concurrent player count of 189,668, making it one of the most-played games on Valve’s platform over the weekend. That’s enough to make Arc Raiders the biggest extraction shooter ever on Steam. Escape from Tarkov might have something to say about that when it finally launches on Steam in November, however.

Arc Raiders’ true peak concurrent player number across all platforms will be higher than the Steam figure, but neither Epic, Sony, nor Microsoft make their numbers public.

Still, 190,000 on Steam for an open beta is very strong. Not Battlefield 6 strong — its open beta peaked with more than half a million players in August — but certainly strong enough to suggest Arc Raiders has a decent chance of making an impression on the gaming landscape at the end of the month.

The Server Slam let players test the Dam Battlegrounds map for a hands-on experience with elements of the game’s progression, crafting, and quest systems. It was designed to help Embark “challenge and fortify the game’s servers before launch,” which hopefully means everything will work as it should on release day. All participants earned an exclusive ‘Server Slammer’ backpack cosmetic reward, unlocked when the full game launches. Progress from the Server Slam does not carry over, however.

Embark Studios’ previous game, free-to-download competitive shooter The Finals, is still going, although its concurrent player numbers on Steam are a far cry from those during its explosive launch back in December 2023.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.