Shroud has a bold prediction for the future of the ARC Raiders

Twitch streamer Shroud has made a bold claim about the future ARC Raidersa new third-person extraction shooter Final developer Embark Studios, saying it will be larger than Fortnite. Despite the fact that some believed ARC Raiders he was destined to fail when he launched himself among himself Battlefield 6 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 last year, Embark had a huge success with its second title. Although this success did not quite reach the same level as FortniteShroud believes that it is not far.

For those who may not be in tune with many Twitch streamers and content creators, Shroud is a former esports pro known for being one of the best. Valiant and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players around. Currently, Shroud, whose real name is Michael Grzesiek, is known for being a popular Twitch streamer and content creator playing titles such as Apex Legends, PUBGand lately ARC Raiders. Like many streamers, Shroud regularly goes viral for his questionable footage and opinions, and he had a lot to say about Embark's latest game. Late last year, Grzesiek accused The Game Awards of being “rigged” because of it. ARC Raiders was not nominated for game of the year. However, it was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game, which it won.

ARC Raiders just secured another win over Battlefield 6 to end 2025

ARC Raiders, the latest extraction shooter on the block, secures another huge victory over Battlefield 6 and closes out 2025 with a bang.

Shroud might have been disappointed by that ARC Raiders it wasn't nominated for game of the year, but the extraction shooter has racked up plenty of other accolades and rave reviews since its release in October. At the time of writing, user reviews for ARC Raiders they are rated “highly positive” on Steam with over 130,000 reviews. On Metacritic, the shooter has a respectable score of 86 for official critic reviews and 7.8 for user reviews. These positive reviews are also reflected in the game's player count, as SteamDB shows that the title has held steady, regularly peaking around 300,000 concurrent users and remains one of the platform's most played games. Of course, that doesn't take into account the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, but it'll probably do just as well on consoles.

Shroud thinks ARC Raiders will be bigger than Fortnite

It's fair to say ARC Raiders has taken the gaming world by storm over the past few months, and Shroud now goes so far as to say it could be bigger than Fortnite. The content creator said during a recent live stream ARC Raiders is “by far the greatest game since FortniteHe then went on to suggest that they were the only other games to approach Fortnitewas a success Valiant and Apex Legendsbut that ARC Raiders it's already bigger than both and will even be bigger than Epic Games' hit Battle Royale “as time goes on.”

Fan reaction seems to have been mixed, with some saying Shroud is “100% right” and others simply saying he's “wrong” and “lying.” One user even stated that he would never get over anything Fortnite because Epic Games is “too good at innovation”.

ARC Raiders be greater than Fortnite is a bold claim for many different reasons. The free-to-play Battle Royale title from Epic Games has been going strong for over 8 years and has amassed over 650 million registered accounts as of December 2025 (according to Demand Sage). Producing billions in revenue and millions of active players every day, ARC Raiders would have to find unprecedented levels of success to overtake them Fortnite. While Shroud may believe it's possible, there's one huge factor holding it back from achieving such a feat: its $40 price tag. Unlike Fortnitewhich is completely free to play, ARC Raiders it drastically limits its reach by being a premium title.

So while Fortnite will likely continue to hold fast to its crown, ARC Raiders already dethroned the council Call of Duty and Battlefield 6. Many expected the new IP to be completely destroyed by the two existing franchises, but ARC Raiders has managed to retain 91% of its player base on Steam over the past few months Battlefield 6 lost 85% of his. Call of DutyPlayer numbers are even more depressing as the game begins Black Ops 7 seemingly unable to make any significant jump in player numbers Call of Duty HQ app when it was released in November.