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Marathon is the closest current match for ARC Raiders’ science-fiction scavenging, rival-player pressure and exfiltration loop. Choose Hunt: Showdown 1896 if contested objectives and high-stakes PvP matter most, Helldivers 2 for third-person cooperative missions, or Deep Rock Galactic for class-based PvE teamwork. Generation Zero is the machine-fighting option when extraction is less important. None is a perfect replacement: ARC Raiders combines machine-controlled surface runs, underground crafting and repairs, and unpredictable survivor encounters for solo players or parties of up to three, with its Steam release dated October 30, 2025 (Steam).
At a glance
| Name | Best for | Key spec | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon | Closest sci-fi PvPvE extraction alternative | Solo or crew scavenging, rival Runners, exfiltration and stronger builds | Oct 2026 |
| Hunt: Showdown 1896 | Competitive bounty extraction pressure | First-person PvP bounty hunting with heavy PvE | Oct 2026 |
| Helldivers 2 | Third-person co-op against AI enemies | Up to four online players, loadouts and deployable stratagems | Oct 2026 |
| Deep Rock Galactic | Class-driven PvE teamwork | One-to-four-player FPS, procedural caves and four classes | Oct 2026 |
| Generation Zero | Open-world battles against machines | Swedish open world, scavenged parts, solo or up to three friends | Oct 2026 |
| The Division 2 | Looter-shooter players wanting a PvP zone | Dark Zone area with player-versus-player combat | Oct 2026 |
What makes ARC Raiders difficult to replace?
ARC Raiders asks you to balance several systems at once. Machines control the surface, so a useful run involves scouting, fighting or avoiding automated threats, collecting materials and deciding when to leave. Gear can be crafted and repaired underground, while other survivors can turn an apparently safe route into an ambush. The party limit is three, which makes every teammate’s equipment and decision important.
That combination creates four separate things a substitute might match: an extraction or exfiltration finish, equipment that can be lost or improved, meaningful PvP pressure, and enemies that are not human. Most games below reproduce only two or three of those elements. Treat the compromises as part of the recommendation rather than expecting a one-for-one clone.
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1. Marathon — the strongest overall match
Bungie’s current Marathon site presents a game in which solo players or crews scavenge across dangerous locations, contend with hostile security forces and rival Runners, then attempt to exfiltrate with what they found. Successful runs support stronger subsequent builds. That is the clearest documented overlap with ARC Raiders’ risk-and-reward loop, and Marathon is available now rather than an unreleased project.
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The major change is perspective. Marathon is first-person, while ARC Raiders is presented from a third-person orientation. That affects how you read cover, track machines and judge whether another squad has seen you. PvP is also a core part of the loop, so it is not a peaceful machine-hunting alternative.
- Pick it when: you want science-fiction locations, rival scavengers and a reason to extract before pushing your luck.
- Expect: first-person gunplay and deliberate player-versus-player tension.
- Skip it when: you specifically want third-person controls or a mode that removes enemy players.
2. Hunt: Showdown 1896 — the most intense contested extraction choice
Crytek describes Hunt: Showdown 1896 as “a competitive first-person PvP bounty hunting game with heavy PvE elements.” That sentence captures its appeal: you pursue a valuable objective while supernatural threats and other hunters compete for the same outcome. Positioning, sound discipline and timing matter because a fight with an AI enemy can reveal you to a rival team.
Hunt is a better recommendation for readers who enjoy the anxiety of being watched than for anyone looking for cooperative machine combat. Its objective is bounty hunting rather than ARC Raiders-style material scavenging and workshop preparation, and its first-person view changes the feel of every encounter. The PvE is substantial, but the game is explicitly PvP-led.
- Pick it when: contested objectives, careful movement and the possibility of losing a hard-won run are the attraction.
- Expect: first-person combat, rival hunters and a horror-western setting instead of science-fiction machines.
- Skip it when: you want to avoid fighting other players.
3. Helldivers 2 — the best third-person cooperative substitute
Helldivers 2 replaces extraction economics with mission-based cooperation. PlayStation describes a third-person shooter for up to four online players, with configurable loadouts and deployable stratagems. Its listed platforms include PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox, giving a four-person group more hardware options than ARC Raiders’ three-person party structure.
The distinction is important: you deploy to complete objectives and fight AI enemies, not to build a persistent stash by scavenging a dangerous surface and deciding when to exfiltrate. Stratagem calls create a different kind of teamwork, where one player brings support weapons, another calls orbital attacks and the squad coordinates movement through a mission. It is therefore the right answer when “play together against enemies” matters more than “leave with loot.”
- Pick it when: your group wants third-person controls, coordinated objectives and large cooperative battles.
- Expect: mission-based progression rather than ARC Raiders’ workshop-and-scavenged-loot economy.
- Skip it when: your favorite part is deciding whether to bank a risky haul while rival squads hunt you.
For collectors, PlayStation’s licensed-merchandise page lists optional seven-inch Helldivers figures, including the Deluxe Trench Engineer and SA-04 Combat Technician, with Amazon-directed links (official merchandise page). These are collectibles, not game copies, unlocks or equipment required to play.
4. Deep Rock Galactic — the best class-based PvE answer
Deep Rock Galactic is a one-to-four-player cooperative first-person shooter built around procedural caves and alien hordes. Its four classes—Gunner, Scout, Driller and Engineer—give each teammate a recognizable job. The resulting teamwork is complementary rather than competitive: one player can provide mobility, another can shape terrain, another can supply firepower and another can build defensive tools.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThis is the strongest choice for a group that wants repeatable expeditions without rival squads. Cave layouts and enemy swarms create pressure, but the pressure comes from the environment and objectives rather than from another team listening for your footsteps. You still make decisions about route, resources and when to finish an expedition, yet the game does not document ARC Raiders’ contested extraction loop.
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- Pick it when: four distinct roles and PvE coordination sound better than PvP ambushes.
- Expect: first-person cave missions, procedural environments and alien enemies.
- Skip it when: you need rival survivors or a surface-scavenging setting.
5. Generation Zero — the machine-survival alternative
Generation Zero places solo players or groups with up to three friends in an open-world version of Sweden populated by lethal machines. PlayStation’s description emphasizes exploration, scavenging machine parts and using the environment to survive. That makes it useful for the specific fantasy of preparing for and battling robots with friends.
It is not a documented extraction shooter. The world is open and persistent rather than organized around contested raid exits, and the central tension is surviving machine encounters rather than deciding whether another squad will steal your haul. Choose it when the ARC Raiders comparison in your head is primarily “cooperative fights against machines.”
- Pick it when: open-world exploration and robot combat are more important than exfiltration.
- Expect: a survival-oriented campaign structure and scavenged components.
- Skip it when: you want a clearly defined rival-team extraction economy.
Is The Division 2 a real ARC Raiders alternative?
Only in a narrow sense. Ubisoft’s current material identifies the Dark Zone as a PvP area inside a broader looter-shooter, so it can appeal to players who want to carry valuable finds through a space where other players may attack. That resemblance applies to the Dark Zone specifically, not to the entire game.
The Division 2 should be a conditional recommendation rather than a top-five substitute. Its main structure is a larger looter-shooter with campaign and endgame systems, while ARC Raiders makes the extraction decision central to each surface run. Select it if you already want that broader looter-shooter format and are interested in its contested zone.
Which pick should a PvE-focused group choose?
Start with Helldivers 2 if your priority is third-person combat and a four-player squad fighting AI enemies. Choose Deep Rock Galactic if class interdependence, procedural spaces and a PvE-first atmosphere matter more than cinematic battlefield scale. Generation Zero is the better fit when the enemies must be machines and an open world is preferable to discrete missions.
A community question illustrates this distinction: one ARC Raiders player asked for “the vibes of friendly Arc” without “so much of the PvP aspect” (Reddit discussion). That is a useful preference statement, not survey evidence. For that player, Helldivers 2 or Deep Rock Galactic addresses the social co-op need more directly than Hunt or Marathon.
What if extraction stakes are the non-negotiable feature?
Rank the options by how much of the leave-with-value decision they preserve. Marathon is the first choice because scavenging, rival Runners and exfiltration are all part of its documented loop. Hunt follows for players who accept a different setting and a more explicitly PvP-led objective. The remaining recommendations are compromises: they preserve teamwork or machine combat but not the same persistent extraction economy.
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- Choose Marathon when science-fiction exfiltration and build improvement are both essential.
- Choose Hunt when contested objectives and opponent pressure matter more than matching the setting.
- Choose Helldivers 2 when the group would rather complete objectives together than risk a stored haul.
- Choose Deep Rock Galactic when repeatable cooperative expeditions and roles are the priority.
- Choose Generation Zero when fighting machines in a shared open world is enough.
How do the platforms and cross-play questions affect the choice?
Platform availability is not the same as guaranteed cross-play. Helldivers 2 is documented for PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox, but a multi-platform listing alone does not establish that every combination of systems can join the same party. Verify the current cross-play and account requirements on each game’s official support pages before buying for a mixed-hardware group.
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The cited descriptions do not provide a complete, current cross-play matrix for Marathon, Hunt: Showdown 1896, Deep Rock Galactic, Generation Zero or The Division 2. Do not infer interoperability from a storefront listing, and do not assume that the number of online players equals ARC Raiders’ party limit of three. A game may support more players in a session while still imposing smaller fireteams or platform restrictions.
What does player-overlap data say about alternatives?
Newzoo’s 2026 PC and console report gives directional evidence about what ARC Raiders players also played. It records a 5.35× overlap index for THE FINALS and 2.63× for HELLDIVERS 2. These are likelihood indices—how much more likely ARC Raiders players were to play those games than average players on the relevant platform—not percentages of ARC Raiders players, similarity scores or current population counts.
The chart covers PC, PlayStation and Xbox in December 2025 across 37 markets, excluding China and India, and includes games with more than 100,000 overlapping monthly active users (Newzoo report PDF). The chart prints Hunt’s name as “Showdown 1986”; that apparent labeling error should not be silently treated as a corrected title or used to assign an unstated figure to Hunt: Showdown 1896.
Use the indices as a signal of audience adjacency, not proof that a game has the same mechanics. Helldivers 2’s overlap supports its place as a practical co-op recommendation, while the mechanical reasons to choose Marathon or Hunt come from their documented extraction and bounty structures.
How we picked these games
The ranking weighs the features an ARC Raiders player must decide between, rather than trying to declare one universal winner:
- Whether the game has a documented extraction, exfiltration or contested-objective loop.
- How central PvP is, and whether the game offers a meaningful cooperative alternative to it.
- Camera perspective: first-person versus third-person.
- Squad scale and whether the design supports complementary roles.
- Enemy identity, especially machines versus human or alien opponents.
- Whether the comparison is a full-game match or only a specific mode, such as a PvP zone.
- Current availability and platform information documented by the publisher or storefront.
That method intentionally leaves compromises visible. A recommendation is useful only when you know which part of ARC Raiders it preserves and which part it replaces.
Solo play, squad size and role fit
Solo players have the clearest documented starting points in Marathon and Generation Zero: both descriptions explicitly allow solo play. Marathon preserves the tension of entering and leaving a run alone, while Generation Zero offers a shared open world where you can tackle machines without assembling a squad. ARC Raiders itself supports solo play as well as parties of up to three, so neither choice requires a four-person team.
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Role preference also changes the recommendation. Deep Rock’s Gunner, Scout, Driller and Engineer create explicit asymmetry, whereas Helldivers 2 asks players to coordinate loadouts and stratagems. Marathon and Hunt emphasize individual positioning, information and survival more than fixed class jobs.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Cost, editions and buying pitfalls
Prices, discounts, bundles and platform-specific editions change, so use the current official storefront for the system you own rather than copying a localized currency figure into a general buying guide. A digital listing also does not establish that a verified physical-disc edition exists. Check whether a purchase is a base game, an upgrade, an expansion bundle or a subscription benefit before comparing totals.
The only physical products specifically documented alongside these recommendations are optional Helldivers merchandise: PlayStation lists seven-inch Deluxe Trench Engineer and SA-04 Combat Technician McFarlane figures and directs shoppers to Amazon. They are collectibles, not game licenses, required equipment or content unlocks. Stock, seller, shipping and price can change, so treat the link as a merchandise reference rather than proof of a permanent deal.
Hunt: Showdown 1896 also has an official apparel and accessories store, but that does not establish a game purchase, a discount or an affiliate relationship. Likewise, a retailer link for a comparable title should not be treated as an approved partner link without separate verification.
Common mistakes when choosing an ARC Raiders substitute
- Calling every looter-shooter an extraction shooter: The Division 2’s resemblance is concentrated in its Dark Zone, not its whole campaign.
- Assuming PvE means no PvP: Hunt is explicitly competitive PvP with heavy PvE, and Marathon keeps rival players in its core loop.
- Confusing a larger squad cap with compatibility: Helldivers 2’s four-player limit and Deep Rock’s one-to-four format do not prove cross-play with every platform combination.
- Expecting persistent loot everywhere: Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic offer cooperative progression, but they do not reproduce ARC Raiders’ workshop-and-scavenged-loot economy.
- Using overlap statistics as a quality score: Newzoo’s indices describe audience likelihood, not mechanical similarity, review quality or current population.
- Buying merchandise as though it unlocks a game: The listed Helldivers figures are separate physical collectibles.
Make the trade-off explicit to your group before buying. Ask whether the priority is leaving with value, fighting machines, avoiding opponents, playing in third person or filling a specific class role. That single conversation usually narrows the list faster than a generic “games like ARC Raiders” ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does being listed on PC, PlayStation and Xbox guarantee cross-play?
No. A game can ship on several platforms while separating players by platform, region or account system. Confirm the current party, cross-play and cross-progression rules for the exact systems your group owns before purchasing.
Can I carry ARC Raiders-style loot between these games?
No. Each title has its own progression and inventory rules. Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic provide cooperative unlocks, while Marathon and Hunt make the run itself more consequential, but none shares an inventory with ARC Raiders.
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Availability information changed. Bungie’s current site says Marathon is available now, so articles written before that status change can be stale even when their mechanical comparisons remain useful.
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Are the Helldivers figures required to play Helldivers 2?
No. The licensed figures are optional physical collectibles. They do not include a game entitlement or in-game equipment, and stock or retailer availability can change.
Which alternatives let me play completely solo?
Marathon and Generation Zero are explicitly described as supporting solo play. Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic are built around online cooperation, while Hunt’s competitive design makes it a poor fit for anyone seeking a PvE-only solo experience.
Is Hunt: Showdown 1896 a PvE-only alternative?
No. Crytek defines it as competitive first-person PvP bounty hunting with heavy PvE elements. Choose it for contested objectives and opponent pressure, not for a mode that removes rival players.
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Which game is best for four friends?
Helldivers 2 supports up to four online players, and Deep Rock Galactic is a one-to-four-player game with four classes. Confirm the current party and cross-play rules for your platforms because a session limit is not a complete interoperability guarantee.
Are these recommendations physical-disc releases?
The cited storefront and publisher descriptions do not establish a verified physical-disc edition for every title. Check the current retailer or platform listing for the exact edition; do not infer disc availability from a digital store page.
What does the Newzoo overlap number mean?
The 5.35× figure for THE FINALS and 2.63× figure for HELLDIVERS 2 are likelihood indices showing how much more likely ARC Raiders players were to play those games than average players in the covered markets. They are not percentages, review scores, similarity ratings or current player counts.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: Pick Marathon for the closest available sci-fi exfiltration loop, Hunt: Showdown 1896 for maximum contested PvP pressure, Helldivers 2 for third-person four-player missions, Deep Rock Galactic for class-based PvE, and Generation Zero for open-world machine combat. The Division 2 belongs on the list only if its Dark Zone is the feature you want.
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