my timesThe Korea Times
  1. Business
  2. Tech & Science

Nexon’s ARC Raiders sales top 12.4 mil. 10 weeks after launch

Listen
By Nam Hyun-woo
  • Published KST
  • Updated KST
A promotional image for ARC Raiders’ Cold Snap update / Courtesy of Nexon

A promotional image for ARC Raiders’ Cold Snap update / Courtesy of Nexon

ARC Raiders, a multiplayer extraction adventure developed by a Nexon studio, has sold more than 12.4 million copies just 10 weeks after the game’s official launch last October.

According to Nexon, ARC Raiders’ accumulated sales reached 12.4 million units across PC and console platforms as of early this month. Peak concurrent players also hit 960,000 this month, putting the game on an unprecedented early success track for a title released by a Korean company.

Developed by Stockholm-based Embark Studios, ARC Raiders won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards last month, one of the world’s most prestigious gaming awards. It was the first time a Korean company’s game won the award since 2017, when Krafton’s PUBG: Battlegrounds won the same honor.

It was also named Most Innovative Gameplay at the 2025 Steam Awards hosted by Steam, the world’s largest gaming platform. Nexon first invested in Embark Studios in 2018 and fully acquired the company in 2019.

“We are incredibly pleased with the strong retention and enduring enthusiasm players in all major markets worldwide have shown for ARC Raiders,” Nexon CEO Lee Jung-hun said. “As pleased as we were with the October launch, reaching the milestone demonstrates the potential for ARC Raiders to become another pillar in Nexon’s portfolio of blockbuster franchises.”

Embark Studios Art Director Robert Sammelin, left, speaks after ARC Raiders won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025 in Los Angeles, Dec. 11, 2025. Courtesy of Nexon

Embark Studios Art Director Robert Sammelin, left, speaks after ARC Raiders won Best Multiplayer Game at The Game Awards 2025 in Los Angeles, Dec. 11, 2025. Courtesy of Nexon

Nexon said ARC Raiders’ early success is an outcome of long-term collaboration and full-fledged support since its acquisition of Embark Studios. The Korean game firm said it respected Embark Studios’ independence and creativity during the development period, and made efforts to leverage Nexon’s publishing and live service expertise to establish the game as a successful intellectual property across Western and Asian markets.

For Nexon, the early success is particularly encouraging because it delivered a new hit in the console market, preferred by Western gamers but a struggle for Korean game companies to enter.

Nexon refused to disclose the game's user base data, but market tracker Alinea Analytics estimated that 55 percent of ARC Raiders players were on Steam while 45 percent were on consoles such as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, suggesting that the console user base is growing meaningfully and that the game is seeing a strong response in Western markets.

“ARC Raiders’ success is a clear affirmation of Nexon Group’s goal of expanding our global footprint with horizontal growth from all-new games that capture and grow massive game communities in every major market and on multiple platforms,” Lee said.

ARC Raiders is a multiplayer survival adventure game based on a post-apocalyptic setting, offering an extraction shooter experience that blends intense battles against powerful enemies called ARC, with cooperation and competition among players.

After a recent major update, ARC Raiders ranked as the third most played game on Steam and is maintaining a Very Positive rating, with 87 percent of roughly 290,000 user reviews on the platform favorable of the title.