Best Games Like ARC Raiders for Co-op PvE and Extraction Gameplay

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Helldivers 2 is the closest co-op PvE substitute for ARC Raiders’ shooting and squad coordination, while Deep Rock Galactic is the best choice for PvE-only teamwork. Choose Hunt: Showdown 1896 if extraction tension matters more than avoiding rival players, or Marauders if you want the strongest science-fiction looter-extraction parallel. None of these games reproduces every part of ARC Raiders: its combination of scavenging, crafting, quests, hostile machines, rival Raiders and an extraction economy remains unusual.

What makes ARC Raiders distinctive

ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure set on a future Earth where players scavenge the surface, fight lethal machines, contend with other Raiders and decide when to leave with their loot. Embark’s official description places those competing pressures at the center of the game. The Steam listing adds solo play or parties of up to three, crafting, quests, dynamic map conditions and both PvE and PvP extraction-shooter systems. The game released on 30 October 2025.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		PlayStation Helldivers 2 [ 5]	$44.40	Buy on Amazon
2		Horror Tales: The Wine (PS5)	$28.37	Buy on Amazon
3		HITMAN World of Assassination (PS5)	$33.40	Buy on Amazon

That mix creates four separate things a replacement might need to match:

• Cooperative combat: a small squad coordinates weapons, movement and objectives.
• Machine-focused PvE: hostile AI can force players to react differently from a human opponent.
• Extraction decisions: loot has value only if the team reaches an exit alive.
• Player uncertainty: rival Raiders can interrupt a plan, ambush a squad or turn a quiet scavenging run into a fight.

ARC Raiders also supports cross-platform social play across PlayStation, Xbox and PC. That matters when your group owns different systems, because the practical value of an alternative depends on whether everyone can join the same squad.

#1 Best Overall

PlayStation Helldivers 2 [ 5]

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$44.40

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Quick recommendation table

Helldivers 2: the closest co-op PvE combat substitute

Choose Helldivers 2 when your priority is fighting enemies together rather than preserving ARC Raiders’ loot-and-escape loop. PlayStation describes it as a frenetic third-person cooperative team shooter for up to four online players. Missions revolve around objectives, enemy engagements and coordinated use of equipment called stratagems.

Why it feels similar

Both games make squad communication valuable. A team can divide responsibilities, synchronize attacks and change its plan when the battlefield becomes dangerous. Helldivers 2’s third-person view also keeps the camera perspective familiar to ARC Raiders players. Four-player support gives a slightly larger group option than ARC Raiders’ parties of up to three.

Loadout planning is a central part of the experience. PlayStation’s product description specifically emphasizes synergizing loadouts, strategizing each mission and completing objectives together. That means a squad that chooses complementary weapons and support tools generally has more options than four players who bring identical equipment.

Where the match ends

Helldivers 2 does not reproduce ARC Raiders’ extraction economy. Its missions are objective-driven cooperative operations, not raids in which scavenged items become a persistent haul only after a successful escape. You should therefore treat it as a combat substitute, not as a one-to-one extraction replacement.

Best fit

• Groups that want frequent firefights against enemy AI.
• Players who prefer short, clearly defined mission sessions.
• Friends who need a third-person game with four-player online cooperation.
• Teams that enjoy discussing loadouts and using support abilities at the right moment.

On the comparison axes that matter most to a PvE-focused group, Helldivers 2 is strongest for cooperative combat and weakest for persistent extraction. It is listed for PS5, PC and Xbox, making it a practical cross-platform option for many squads, although your group should confirm current platform availability for its region before buying.

Deep Rock Galactic: the cleanest PvE-only teamwork choice

Deep Rock Galactic is the best recommendation when “like ARC Raiders” means cooperative PvE, replayable environments and class cooperation without rival players. Ghost Ship Games presents hazardous missions in procedurally varied caves filled with hostile alien life. Each class has its own mining weapons and gadgets, so team composition changes how a group traverses and fights.

Why co-op groups choose it

The game’s design makes every player useful in a different way. One class may open routes or illuminate a cavern, another may control enemies, and another may provide mobility or heavy firepower. The official site’s “TEAMWORK IS KEY” message accurately captures the practical requirement: squads succeed by combining tools rather than by asking every player to perform the same role.

Procedural cave layouts keep missions from becoming a memorized sequence. Teams must read the terrain, manage threats and decide how far to push before returning. That creates risk and expedition planning, but without the possibility that a rival Raider will take your haul.

What it does not provide

Deep Rock Galactic is an adjacent co-op shooter, not a strict extraction game. It does not recreate ARC Raiders’ rival-player mind games, persistent raid economy or surface-scavenging fiction. There is no reason to choose it if the defining attraction for you is outsmarting another squad at an extraction point.

Rank #2

Horror Tales: The Wine (PS5)

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• Survive your Nemesis: Someone is relentlessly hunting you. Suffer and agonize while you try to run away from the encounters with this strange stalker obsessed with you.
• Intense Challenges: Solve environmental riddles, physics puzzles and other similar challenges in an interconnected vertical world. Even while being chased and hunted.
• Accessibility and Photomode: Tweak more than 20 Accessibility settings to create a tailored experience for you. Use the Photomode to make perfect shots and unlock many secrets using it.

$28.37

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Best fit

• Friends who want PvE without PvP ambushes.
• Players who enjoy distinct classes and planned team roles.
• Groups that value repeatable environments over a fixed campaign route.
• Anyone who finds extraction losses stressful but still wants dangerous expeditions.

Among the alternatives covered here, Deep Rock Galactic is the strongest answer to “Which game should I play with friends if I want PvE only?” Its trade-off is clear: you gain reliable cooperation and lose the uncertainty created by rival Raiders.

Hunt: Showdown 1896: extraction tension with PvE pressure

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is the choice for players who care most about high stakes, careful movement and the possibility that another team is listening. Crytek describes it as a competitive first-person PvP bounty-hunting game with heavy PvE elements in a match-based survival format.

Why it preserves extraction tension

Hunt places valuable objectives inside a dangerous map rather than presenting a sequence of disconnected firefights. Sound, positioning and timing matter because an encounter with an AI enemy can reveal your location to human hunters. A team must weigh whether to pursue a target, take a safer route or leave before another group arrives.

That tension is closer to ARC Raiders’ risk-and-reward structure than Helldivers 2 or Deep Rock Galactic. The important difference is where the danger comes from: Hunt is PvP-led, with PvE enemies shaping the route and creating opportunities for opponents to exploit.

Who should avoid it

Do not pick Hunt if your group wants a PvE-only experience. Human hunters are not an occasional side feature; competition is the foundation of the match. Players who dislike losing a run because another team tracked their sound or intercepted an objective may find the game less relaxing than ARC Raiders’ mixed PvE/PvP balance.

Best fit

• Players who enjoy deliberate first-person gunfights.
• Teams that treat audio cues and stealth as weapons.
• Groups seeking extraction stakes rather than constant action.
• ARC Raiders players who are comfortable with a more overtly competitive structure.

Hunt is therefore the best extraction-tension alternative, but not the closest co-op PvE alternative. Its placement depends on which half of ARC Raiders you value more.

Marauders: the strongest science-fiction looter-extraction parallel

Marauders is a tactical first-person multiplayer looter shooter built around space-pirate raids. Its Steam listing says players can operate alone or in squads of up to four, pilot ships, board hostile locations, loot resources, craft gear and escape with what they find.

Why it resembles ARC Raiders

Marauders shares the most obvious structural ingredients with ARC Raiders: enter a dangerous location, gather useful equipment, manage persistent gear and leave before the run is lost. Ship piloting and boarding add a science-fiction layer that complements ARC Raiders’ futuristic setting. The decision to extract is meaningful because resources and equipment matter beyond a single firefight.

The four-player ceiling may suit groups that cannot fit into ARC Raiders’ parties of up to three. Solo play also lets one person learn maps and systems without waiting for a full squad.

Rank #3

HITMAN World of Assassination (PS5)

• Quantity:1
• Package Quantity: 1
• Branded Merchandise

$33.40

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Development-state caution

Steam flags Marauders as Early Access and warns that its last developer update was more than two years ago. That does not establish that the game is unavailable or abandoned, but it does reduce recommendation confidence for readers who expect frequent updates, a clearly communicated roadmap or a finished feature set. Check the current Steam page, recent patch notes and active-player situation before committing money or organizing a long-term group around it.

Best fit

• Players who want a first-person sci-fi looter shooter.
• Friends interested in ship combat, boarding and raid escapes.
• Groups that value persistent equipment more than PvE purity.
• Early Access players who accept development uncertainty.

Marauders is the closest thematic and economic parallel in this list, but its Early Access status means it is a more conditional recommendation than the established co-op alternatives.

How the games differ on the four decisions that matter

PvE purity

Deep Rock Galactic offers the clearest PvE-only structure. Helldivers 2 is also strongly PvE-focused, with missions built around coordinated fights against alien enemies. ARC Raiders mixes machine threats with rival Raiders, while Hunt and Marauders expose squads to direct competition from other players.

Extraction fidelity

Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Marauders preserve the extraction idea most directly. Hunt emphasizes bounty recovery and surviving a contested match; Marauders emphasizes looting, persistent gear and escape raids. ARC Raiders remains the reference point because it combines those decisions with machine encounters and quests. Helldivers 2 and Deep Rock Galactic are not extraction games in the same economic sense.

Perspective and session structure

ARC Raiders and Helldivers 2 use third-person shooting. Hunt: Showdown 1896 and Marauders use first person. Helldivers 2 is organized around mission objectives, Deep Rock Galactic around hazardous cave missions, Hunt around match-based bounty hunting, and Marauders around raids that include ship and location encounters.

Squad size and access

When platform compatibility is decisive, verify the current store listing for every member of your group. Platform support, cross-play rules and regional availability can change independently of a game’s core design.

Choose by the kind of session you want

“We want nonstop cooperative shooting.”

Pick Helldivers 2. Its missions put teamwork, loadout synergy, stratagem timing and objective completion ahead of scavenging. You will get the most direct replacement for the moment-to-moment combat rhythm, provided you can accept that loot extraction is absent.

“We want PvE, but no enemy squad can ruin our run.”

Pick Deep Rock Galactic. Its caves and alien life create danger without rival players. Class-specific tools give each friend a reason to communicate, and procedural layouts support repeated play.

“The extraction decision is the whole point.”

Pick Hunt: Showdown 1896 if you want the most intense competitive version of that decision. Pick Marauders if you want a science-fiction setting, persistent gear and ship-based raids, while accepting its Early Access uncertainty.

“We want the closest overall blend.”

Stay with ARC Raiders if your group specifically wants machines, scavenging, crafting, quests, dynamic map conditions and rival Raiders in one third-person package. If you need a substitute, combine priorities rather than looking for a perfect clone: Helldivers 2 covers co-op combat, Deep Rock Galactic covers PvE teamwork, Hunt covers extraction tension and Marauders covers sci-fi looter raids.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1

PlayStation Helldivers 2 [ 5]

Join the Helldivers and fight with friends for freedom:

$44.40

Bestseller No. 2

Horror Tales: The Wine (PS5)

$28.37

Bestseller No. 3

HITMAN World of Assassination (PS5)

Quantity:1; Package Quantity: 1; Branded Merchandise

$33.40

A practical way to decide before buying

1. Identify your non-negotiable. Write down whether it is PvE-only play, extraction stakes, a third-person camera, science-fiction setting or a specific squad size.
2. Remove incompatible games. A PvE-only group should remove Hunt and Marauders; a group that requires extraction should not treat Helldivers 2 as a full replacement.
3. Check the group’s platforms. ARC Raiders explicitly supports cross-platform social play across PlayStation, Xbox and PC. Helldivers 2 is listed for PS5, PC and Xbox. Confirm current rules for the exact editions and regions your friends use.
4. Match session length to your habits. Objective missions suit groups that want a defined operation; extraction raids suit players willing to spend time scouting, looting and deciding when to leave.
5. Account for development status. Marauders’ Early Access label and the warning about its last developer update mean you should inspect current activity before making it your group’s main game.

Bottom line by priority

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