Arc Raiders Left Out of GOTY at The Game Awards Despite Massive Success Despite explosive popularity, critical praise, and genre-shifting impact, Arc Raiders was snubbed for Game of the Year and nominated only for Best Multiplayer

The Game Awards has revealed its full slate of nominees, and while the lineup includes several deserving titles — including Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 making a dominant multi-category showing — one of the year’s biggest breakout hits is shockingly absent from the GOTY list.

Arc Raiders, despite launching to huge commercial success, strong reviews, and a massive cultural presence, walked away with only one nomination: Best Multiplayer Game. And while every nominated title earned its spot, players are wondering how one of 2025’s fastest-growing games missed the industry’s top recognition.

🎮 Arc Raiders Earned Only a Best Multiplayer Nomination

Arc Raiders’ nomination for Best Multiplayer Game is well deserved, but many players feel the game’s impact goes far beyond the category.

Why fans expected more:

Arc Raiders blends immersive world-building with rich lore.
The game offers both social and solo play options.
Its variety of enemies, regions, and progression give it depth rarely seen in extraction shooters.
It’s already one of the most played and discussed games of the year — less than a month into launch.

Many argue Arc Raiders should have been an easy pick for categories like Best Audio Design, Best Action Game, or even the coveted Game of the Year slot. But as strong as the case may be, the competition across all categories this year is undeniably stacked.

🏆 Why Arc Raiders Missed GOTY: The Awards Process

The biggest culprit behind the snub appears to be timing.

Here's how The Game Awards nomination system works:

Judges receive ballots roughly one month before nominations go live.
New releases right before that window have almost no time to spread through the industry.
Critics may not have played enough to fully understand the game’s depth or long-term potential.
Multiplayer titles relying on live servers — like Arc Raiders — can’t provide early review access the way single-player games can.

Because of this, fast-rising games released near the cutoff often don’t have the visibility needed for a serious GOTY push.

Arc Raiders faces the same challenge that hit surprise releases like Dispatch — both arrived late in the year and weren’t widely played by press before ballots were due.

🚀 Why Arc Raiders Still Feels Special

Many players describe Arc Raiders as capturing the spark of “first-time experiences” — the same thrill felt discovering:

RuneScape PvP
Early-beta PUBG
H1Z1 survival runs
DayZ extraction tension

Every match feels unpredictable, and because every piece of gear is on the line, each decision carries weight. Yet the game remains approachable, lowering the barrier to entry for extraction newcomers.

Despite being live for only a few weeks, Arc Raiders has:

A massive player base
Strong reviews
A powerful social presence
Mainstream cultural momentum

The industry rarely sees a multiplayer title break through this quickly.

🔮 Looking Ahead: GOTY Snub Won’t Define Its Legacy

Arc Raiders could fade — or it could become the next game people stick with for years. Live-service games often evolve dramatically, and the future of Arc Raiders could easily surpass its explosive launch.

If the game continues delivering updates like North Line and Cold Snap, it could cement itself as:

A genre-defining extraction shooter
One of 2025’s most important releases
A long-term “destination game” for millions of players

Awards matter — but they don’t define what players will love years from now.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Arc Raiders may have been overlooked for Game of the Year, but its impact is already undeniable. In just a few weeks, it has reshaped the extraction genre, sparked massive community excitement, and shown the kind of staying power few multiplayer titles achieve. Recognition will come — whether through awards or through the players who keep returning for that one-of-a-kind thrill.