Arc Raiders Players Get This Free Pickaxe As Game Passes 12 Million Copies Sold

Nexon has officially announced that Arc Raiders has sold more than 12.4 million units since the $40 game launched at the end of October 2025. The sales number is not a surprise, as the research firm Alinea Analytics previously estimated sales to be around 12 million.

Nexon president and CEO Junghun Lee said sales at this level, along with the fact that Arc Raiders reached 960,000 peak concurrent players, demonstrates "the potential for Arc Raiders to become another pillar in Nexon's portfolio of blockbuster franchises."

The Korean publisher, which owns the Arc Raiders IP and developer Embark, further stated that Arc Raiders passed 10 million units sold by the end of December 2025. Nexon said sales accelerated recently, presumably due in part to the game's 20% discount, pushing total figures to 12.4 million and counting. The game has sold well and still has lots of players, as the game regularly ranks at the top, or near it, on the Steam charts.

Anyone who logs into Arc Raiders by the end of today, January 13, will get the "Gilded Pickaxe Raider Tool" as part of the game's new update today.

Get the Gilded Pickaxe for free right now.

This update makes a series of significant changes, including reducing the fire rate for the Kettle from 600 to 450. "The previous fire rate was only realistically reachable by players using macros, which creates an unfair dynamic that favors using third-party software," Embark said.

Additionally, the Trigger 'Nade has been nerfed. "This nerf aims to make it less usable as a 'trigger-in-air' grenade, whilst keeping its usefulness as a sticky bomb," Embark said

What's more, the new Arc Raiders update fixes an exploit with key cards that allowed players to retain the room keys even after using them.

Given the huge success of Arc Raiders so far, it's no big surprise that Hollywood has come calling. Embark has said it's gotten TV and movie pitches, but no deals have materialized as of yet.

Arc Raiders has been big hit, but it's also been criticized for its use of AI-based text-to-speech systems. Patrick Söderlund, the head of Arc Raiders studio Embark, recently shed more light on the situation, saying the studio's goal in implementing AI into its development processes is to make better games more efficiently. He also pushed back against the idea that using AI systems in game development would lead to lower employment at Embark.

"We don't use AI to not have to hire people or replace people or job groups or voice actors," Söderlund told GamesBeat. "People have to take a step back and understand what it is and how it can be a big help to developers and be a tremendous benefit to players. I realize it is an intricate subject and discussion."

GameSpot's Arc Raiders review scored the game a 9/10. "We can all kill each other in Arc Raiders. The fact that most of us are choosing instead to lend a helping hand, if not a sign that humanity will be all right in the real world, at the very least makes for one of the best multiplayer games I've ever played," reviewer Mark Delaney said.

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