Instead of engaging in PvE or PvP battles, a creative ARC Raiders the player instead chooses to spend their time playing as a trader NPC. It seems like others ARC Raiders player engages with this player in good faith and plays into the situation rather than just killing them on sight.
ARC Raiders is one of the biggest gaming successes in recent times. Lifetime sales for ARC Raiders recently reached 12.4 million, continuing the momentum it started building in late 2025. The game has successfully helped bring the extraction shooter genre into the mainstream, while putting its own unique spin on it. While the sales figures are impressive in themselves, it's player retention that really makes the difference ARC Raiders from its competition. It continues to maintain hundreds of thousands of concurrent players on Steam, with frequent 24-hour peaks not too far off its all-time peak, which was hit two months ago. These days, the revolving door of live service titles makes it difficult for these types of games to retain players for long periods of time, but ARC Raiders defying the odds and doing so as a new IP as well.
ARC Raiders players have found an even wilder way to cheat
In yet another example of game theory in action, some cheaters discover a rather out-of-the-box way to gain an unfair advantage in ARC Raiders.
This ARC Raiders player spends his time as a trader, and it's fun
On TikTok, creator Grimm Hollywood shared a clip in which they role-played as NPC merchants ARC Raiders. Instead of engaging in PvP or PvE battles, the player sits on the floor playing his guitar, with his wares laid out in front of him. They explain to another player over voice chat what items they have for sale, and even complete a trade by haggling over their items. It's a fun interaction that really shows that there are unique experiences to be had, even for players who think outside the box and play ARC Raiders in ways the developer might not have intended.
This kind of fun playstyle only works when other players engage in good faith and play along. They could simply shoot Grimm Hollywood while playing as traders, but that's hardly fun. In the end it is ARC Raiders' aggression-based matchmaking that allows this to work. The system matches players with playstyles similar to their own, meaning that if they don't attack other players in the long run, they'll end up in the lobby with others who share the same tendencies. If matchmaking was random, it's hard to believe that Grimm Hollywood would last too long playing as a trader, as more aggressive players would simply kill him and take his loot.
Since the release of ARC Raidersit's been fun to see players play the game in unique and interesting ways. Some players are pure PvP and will attack any other player at any time. Others take a more passive approach, choosing to avoid conflict with other players wherever possible. But there are players who take on more specific tasks, such as ARC Raiders players who filled their entire inventory with rubber ducks. It is a sign of ARC Raiders' versatility as players can hone in on stuff like this and play however they want.
Heading into 2026, it's going to be a huge year for ARC Raiders. Developer Embark Studios recently revealed that a ton of content is coming ARC Raiders over the next 12 months, including several new maps that will vary in size. However, it has yet to reveal a full roadmap for the game for 2026, so there is still a lot to reveal in the coming months.
- Released
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30 October 2025
- ESRB
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Teen/violence, blood
