ARC Raiders has just won the Nordic Game of the Year award at the Nordic Game Awards 2026. ARC Raiders actually won a total of three awards during the 2026 Nordic Game Awards, with the other two being in the Best Technology and Best Audio categories.
Developed by Swedish studio Embark, ARC Raiders made its debut in October 2025. The Sci-Fi extraction shooter was an immediate hit with critics, with ARC Raiders earning a 87 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic and a recommendation score of 91%. GameRant’s own Josh Cotts gave ARC Raiders a 10/10 in his review, describing the core gameplay loop as “fast, punishing, and unpredictable, yet it never forgets to be fun.” ARC Raiders also appears to have been a major commercial success, with publisher Nexon confirming in a February 2026 financial report that ARC Raiders had sold over 14 million copies since launch.
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ARC Raiders Wins Big at the Nordic Game Awards 2026
Embark’s immensely popular extraction shooter took home three trophies from the Nordic Game Awards 2026 on May 29. ARC Raiders won in the Best Technology category, the Best Audio category, and took home the most prestigious award of them all, the crown for Nordic Game of the Year. In their acceptance speech, an Embark developer said the following:
“On behalf of the whole of Embark and the ARC Raiders team, we’re very humbled to be here. Not only amongst the best of the Nordics, but we’re really humbled just to be a part of this industry. It’s a super amazing moment for us… We need to first say thank you to our players. We wouldn’t be here without them. Second, of course, to the ARC Raiders team. You guys are amazing, so much passion and so much talent. It’s just amazing to work there every single day. And then third, we’re very grateful to Nexon and all the support. Thank you so much everyone.”
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
These three Nordic Game Awards are just the latest in a long line of prestigious award wins for ARC Raiders that began back in December 2025. Less than two months after its initial launch, ARC Raiders won the Best Multiplayer Game award at the 2025 Game Awards. Soon after, ARC Raiders won the Most Innovative Gameplay award in the annual user-voted Steam Awards. Then, in 2026, ARC Raiders took home a D.I.C.E. award for Online Game of the Year, and the British Academy Game Award for Multiplayer.
Every Nordic Game Awards 2026 Winner
- Nordic Game of the Year: ARC Raiders, by Embark Studios (Sweden)
- Best Art: The Midnight Walk, by MoonHood (Sweden)
- Best Game Design: Split Fiction, by Hazelight Studios (Sweden)
- Best Technology: ARC Raiders, by Embark Studios (Sweden)
- Best Audio: ARC Raiders, by Embark Studios (Sweden)
- Best Fun for Everyone: LEGO Voyagers, by Light Brick Studio (Denmark)
- Best Debut: Discounty, by Crinkle Cut Games (Denmark)
Click or tap on the games that match the category
While it was undoubtedly the biggest winner of the night, ARC Raiders wasn’t the only game to take away a trophy at the 2026 Nordic Game Awards. The Midnight Walk, MoonHood’s Tim Burton-esque puzzle game, won the Best Art award. Hazelight’s Split Fiction won for Best Game Design. LEGO Voyagers took home the Best Fun for Everyone award. And finally, Discounty, the narrative-driven supermarket management sim, won the Best Debut award.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
