Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon has just been released globally to positive reviews from critics and players. On Steam, the game is now having one of the biggest launches in the history of FromSoftware.
Launched on August 24, Armored Core VI currently holds an average score of 87 on Metacritic. Players seem to enjoy the game as well, as it has an 84% rating on Steam based on over 3,000 user reviews.
The latest game by FromSoftware has already peaked at 129,285 concurrent users (CCU) on the Valve’s platform, according to SteamDB. It also reached 164k peak viewers on Twitch.
These launch numbers make Armored Core VI the third FromSoftware title by peak concurrent players. Looking at the top 5, the new game has every chance of eventually surpassing Dark Souls III:
- Elden Ring — 953,426 CCU;
- Dark Souls III — 129,975 CCU;
- Armored Core VI — 129,285 CCU;
- Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — 125,315 CCU;
- Dark Souls II — 79,528 CCU.
Armored Core VI is now also the fifth biggest Steam release of 2023 in terms of peak concurrent players. It is only behind Resident Evil 4 (168k), Sons of the Forest (414k), Baldur’s Gate 3 (875k), and Hogwarts Legacy (879k).
Top 10 Steam games of 2023 by peak CCU, Sons of the Forrest is not there because it is an Early Access title (Armored Core VI will rank right between RE4 and Dave the Diver)
Bandai Namco Europe CEO Arnaud Muller told GamesIndustry.biz that the publisher has high expectations for Armorec Core VI: “We are not going to be able to match Elden Ring numbers but we will way surpass what Armored Core previous games have done.”
As of March 31, 2023, Elden Ring had sold 20.5 million units globally. It is unclear what are the total sales of previous titles in the Armored Core franchise, but the new game is likely to end up selling several million copies due to the success of FromSoftware’s latest projects.
Armored Core is a series of third-person mecha action games. Its first installment came out in 1997. The franchise currently includes six main games and several spin-offs. Muller also noted that Armored Core VI is an opportunity for Bandai Namco to “truly widen” the audience of this IP.