ARC Raiders vs HELLDIVERS 2
Co-op extraction tension versus chaotic 4-player democracy — which team shooter fits your squad?
Updated 11d ago
ARC Raiders' accessible extraction loop is worth it now, but cheaters and content droughts mean wait until the anti-cheat is fixed.
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.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | ARC Raiders | HELLDIVERS 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Value ARC Raiders wins on value | ||
| Price now | $30.95 −23% · GameBillet | $30.95 −23% · GameBillet |
| All-time low | $26.75 | $25.47 |
| Cost / hour | $0.66/hr $30.95 · 47 h main story | $0.97/hr $30.95 · 32 h main story |
| Off its low | +16% low was Dec 2025 | +22% low was Mar 2025 |
| Main story | 47 h | 32 h |
| Health Too close to call | ||
| Steam reviews | 83% 411k reviews | 75% 1.2M reviews |
| Recent reviews | 51% 3k votes · vs 83% lifetime · souring | 81% 3k votes · vs 75% lifetime · improving |
| Peak players | 50,024 Jul 2026 · ↓ 27% MoM | 43,782 Jul 2026 · ↓ 4% MoM |
| Launch peak | — | 10% of Feb 2024 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | 465,097 Jan 2026 · now at 11% | 458,208 Feb 2024 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 4 days ago | 5 weeks ago |
| Patch cadence | 16+ in last 90 days, at minimum | 4 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Platinum | Gold |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
ARC Raiders
Atmosphere and audio are the anchors for long-haul fans — the abandoned world and machine hums keep 1000-hour players hooked.
Cheaters and exploiters are the dominating frustration, with veterans abandoning balanced/PvP lobbies and begging for real anti-cheat.
from our August 2026 verdict
HELLDIVERS 2
The core co-op PVE loop remains engaging and fun for hundreds of hours despite ongoing frustrations.
Persistent balance changes, performance bugs, and poor developer communication erode trust and enjoyment over time.
from our May 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick ARC Raiders if
- You bounced off Tarkov's complexity but still want extraction shooter tension
- You have a regular trio or duo to squad up with regularly
- You prefer realistic gunfeel and weighty movement over arcade chaos
Pick HELLDIVERS 2 if
- You want drop-in-drop-out co-op without gear loss penalties
- You enjoy chaotic friendly fire and stratagem loadout planning
- You play mostly solo or with random matchmaking and prefer PvE
Bottom line
If you want high-stakes extraction with a regular team, pick ARC Raiders. For pure friendly-fire chaos that's easy to jump into, pick HELLDIVERS 2.