ARC Raiders vs HELLDIVERS 2
One is an extraction shooter where every death costs you your kit; the other is a chaotic 4-player co-op where friendly fire is part of the plan.
Embark's prettiest and friendliest extraction shooter — ARC Raiders trades Tarkov's hardcore detail for cleaner combat and a real sci-fi world to fight over.
Still the best chaotic 4-player co-op shooter on PC despite the playerbase falling from 458k peak to 30k after Arrowhead's balance churn.
Steam popularity
Shared scale — sparklines are directly comparable across both games.
ARC Raiders
May 2026 peak CCU 120,450 ↓ 22% MoM
All-time peak 465,097
HELLDIVERS 2
May 2026 peak CCU 56,995 ↓ 32% MoM
All-time peak 458,208
Key differences
Loot permanence
ARC Raiders is a full-loot extraction game — dying means losing everything you brought in.
HELLDIVERS 2 recycles loadout cooldowns, so failed missions only cost time, not gear.
PvP element
ARC Raiders pits squads against each other and AI in a PvPvE world.
HELLDIVERS 2 is strictly PvE — the only enemies are AI bugs and bots.
Team dynamics
ARC Raiders demands a regular trio or duo; solo play is punishing and steep.
HELLDIVERS 2 thrives on 4-player chaos with intentional friendly fire and stratagem synergy.
Which one is for you?
Pick ARC Raiders if
- You want extraction-shooter tension without Tarkov's hardcore complexity.
- You love Embark's gunfeel from The Finals and want co-op objectives.
- You have a regular trio to squad up with for gear-heavy runs.
Pick HELLDIVERS 2 if
- You prefer chaotic 4-player co-op over solo extraction pressure.
- You enjoy strategic loadout planning with 30-second stratagem cooldowns.
- You don't care about PvP and want to fight AI in a persistent galactic war.
Bottom line
If you want high-stakes gear anxiety with a trio, pick ARC Raiders. If you want egalitarian co-op mayhem with friendly fire, pick HELLDIVERS 2.