ARC Raiders has climbed to the top of Steam's sales charts for January 2026, extending a run that started during the holiday season and shows little sign of slowing down. New data from Alinea Analytics suggests the extraction shooter sold another 1.5 million copies on Steam during the month alone, pushing its Steam total past 8.5 million and bringing overall sales across all platforms close to 14 million ARC Raiders Items. That makes January the second month in a row where the game has led Valve's storefront, helped by a mix of discounts, steady updates, and growing word of mouth.
The momentum really started during the holidays. Between December 21 and January 5, ARC Raiders reportedly moved around 1.2 million copies on Steam thanks to a 20% discount that pulled in a huge wave of new players. That same period coincided with Steam posting a record $1.6 billion in monthly revenue, a sharp jump over the previous year, with ARC Raiders frequently cited as one of the biggest contributors alongside long-standing hits like Counter-Strike 2. Engagement didn't drop off after the sale either. On January 4, the game hit a peak of roughly 3.2 million daily active users across all platforms, with Steam players making up more than half of that number.
Weekly sales rankings throughout January backed up the idea that this wasn't just a one-off spike. ARC Raiders reclaimed the number one spot for the week ending January 20, beating out everything from Steam Deck hardware to major sports releases like EA Sports FC 26. Revenue charts excluding free-to-play games showed a similar story, echoing its strong performance at the end of 2025 when it topped holiday lists over several well-known titles. Regular balance updates and new extraction areas from Embark Studios helped keep daily concurrent player counts in the hundreds of thousands, according to SteamDB tracking.
Part of the game's appeal is how it blends tense PvE encounters with optional PvP in a ruined sci-fi setting. Players raid dangerous zones, fight massive ARC machines, and decide when to push their luck or extract, which has resonated with fans of both cooperative and competitive shooters. Cross-platform play since launch has widened the audience, and many players credit the holiday discount with finally pushing them to try the game after wishlisting it. Seasonal events and limited-time raids also encouraged people to keep coming back, helping user reviews trend toward the highest positive ratings.
Strong console performance has played a big role as well. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S players made up a large chunk of the January activity spike, with clips of last-second extractions and close calls spreading quickly on social media. Embark's early 2026 roadmap, teased through developer interviews, hints at new maps and biome variations that could keep that momentum going. So far, that forward-looking support has helped ARC Raiders hold its ground against both surprise releases and established franchises preparing new launches.
From Steam's perspective, ARC Raiders has become a clear example of how a well-priced live-service shooter can dominate charts even after the holidays. Its standard price, paired with carefully timed discounts, hit a sweet spot that encouraged impulse buys without undermining its premium cosmetics. Analysts point to the smooth transition from holiday hype into strong January retention as a major reason for its success, something many competing releases failed to replicate ARC Raiders Battle pass.
As February 2026 gets underway, ARC Raiders doesn't appear to be slowing down. If upcoming updates land well, it could very easily stay near the top of the charts for another month. For now, its January performance stands out as proof that in a crowded market, consistent updates, smart pricing, and a clear gameplay identity can still turn a new IP into a runaway hit.
