ARC Raiders suffered a major server failure during the early hours of Christmas Day 2025, locking hundreds of thousands of players out of Embark Studios' extraction shooter. The outage began at 1:40 AM UTC on December 25, 2025, and triggered widespread frustration as players hit persistent error codes that blocked access to matchmaking and even the main menu.
How Many Players Were Affected
The timing couldn't have been worse. With 346.3K active players trying to connect during the holiday, the server failures hit a huge chunk of the player base. ARC Raiders had reached a peak of 479.5K concurrent players within the 24 hours before everything went down.
Downdetector tracked the complaints as they piled up. The first hour saw 378 reports flood the platform. Another 324 came in during just the next 15 minutes. Within 24 hours, 402 total reports documented the crisis.
In the US alone, roughly 35,000 users reported issues through Downdetector. Server connection problems made up about 84% of all complaints, with login failures and unexpected disconnections accounting for the rest.
The Error Codes: What ARAU0297 and ART00004 Mean
Players ran into two main error codes during the outage, each pointing to different parts of the connectivity breakdown.
ARAU0297
The ARAU0297 error became one of the most common issues. It displays as "Online services are currently unavailable" or "Online connection error," blocking players from matchmaking or even reaching the main menu. The problem stems from authentication and network communication failures that hit PC, Xbox, and PlayStation users all at once.
ART00004
The ART00004 error shows the message "Retrieving data from backend services timed out – please try again later," pointing to server-side overload. The ART00004 error was exacerbated by increased traffic from the Cold Snap event, with holiday gaming activity combined with the in-game event creating overwhelming demand on server infrastructure.
Other Games Hit by the Same Problems
The disruption spread far beyond ARC Raiders. Multiple online services experienced connectivity issues during the same window:
- Fortnite (login failures and "Servers Not Responding" errors)
- Epic Games Store (purchase transaction problems)
- Steam ("Bad Gateway" errors)
- Rocket League
- Fall Guys
- Among Us
- Dead by Daylight
- Elden Ring
- Throne and Liberty
- Lost Ark
- PlayStation Network
Epic Games' status page confirmed several major titles stayed offline during the peak of the disruption. Around 9:30 PM EST on Wednesday (Christmas Eve), over 4,000 users reported AWS-related issues through Downdetector, sparking speculation about a broader infrastructure failure.
AWS Says It Wasn't Them
Social media quickly pointed fingers at Amazon Web Services as the source of the widespread problems. AWS provides cloud infrastructure for numerous gaming services, making it an obvious suspect when multiple platforms go down at once.
AWS pushed back hard on these claims. The company's official AWS Newsroom account posted on X: "No, that's false. AWS services are operating normally today, but an event elsewhere on the internet has prompted some inaccurate speculation on social media."
The company added that the AWS Health Dashboard is the only reliable source for checking service status, warning users not to trust social media speculation.
AWS didn't specify what actually caused the confusion. These situations often happen when third-party services or regional network providers hit technical issues that indirectly affect user access, creating the appearance of a wider cloud outage even when core infrastructure stays stable.
How to Fix the ARAU0297 Error
The ARAU0297 error mostly comes from server-side issues, but players can try several local fixes to improve their chances of connecting. During widespread outages these solutions may not help much, but they can make a difference once services start stabilizing.
PC Fixes (Steam and Epic Games Launcher)
On Windows, the ARAU0297 error usually ties back to IP/DNS issues or wrong system time. Try these steps in order, testing the game after each one:
Verify Internet Connection: Close ARC Raiders completely and run another online game or service to confirm the connection is stable. Wi-Fi users should switch to Ethernet or move closer to the router to cut down on packet loss during login attempts.
Reboot Networking Equipment: Power off the modem and router for several minutes, then reconnect and retry. This refreshes the public IP address and clears local cache. Players behind CGNAT (Carrier-Grade NAT) sometimes need their ISP to issue a new public IP or replace routing hardware.
Complete Embark Account Linking: Sign into the Embark profile through a web browser and make sure it's correctly linked to the platform account. If the linking process wasn't finished before, complete it through the browser, then relaunch the game. Missing or incomplete account links frequently cause the ARAU0297 error.
Repair Easy Anti-Cheat and Validate Game Files: Verify the game installation through Steam or Epic Games. Then run the Easy Anti-Cheat starter once with administrator privileges before launching again.
PlayStation 5 Fixes
On PS5, the error often shows up after a disconnect or failed matchmaking attempt.
Restart both the console and router. Re-sync or toggle automatic date, time, and DST settings. Many players report instant success after correcting clock discrepancies.
If the game was newly purchased, restore licenses through PS5 account settings. Clearing cache and rebuilding the database from Safe Mode can also help when combined with a router reboot.
Xbox Series X|S Fixes
For Xbox users dealing with persistent ARAU0297 errors:
Perform a full console reboot and restart network equipment. Try cloud streaming as a comparison test to isolate the issue.
Toggle automatic time settings, adjust the time zone, and reboot. Minor clock drift has caused repeated login failures for some users. Temporarily switching console region has resolved persistent loops in rare cases.
Check NAT status in network settings. If problems continue, contact the ISP about CGNAT, IPv6, or faulty router hardware.
What Embark Studios Said
Embark Studios acknowledged the connectivity problems and worked throughout the day to stabilize online services. Service was gradually restored for most players by the evening.
The developer typically communicates about major outages through the @ARCRaidersGame account on X. Players were advised to monitor the official Arc Raiders status page for real-time updates.
Past ARC Raiders outages have seen Embark respond within hours, followed by compensation announcements. Previous server incidents resulted in affected players receiving in-game currency and cosmetic items.
Steam Had Its Own Problems
Steam experienced a separate global outage affecting hundreds of thousands of users on Christmas Eve, adding to the holiday gaming frustration.
Reports of Steam going offline started around 2:00 PM ET. A brief restoration happened by roughly 2:30 PM, but the fix didn't stick. Users kept running into connectivity issues. The "Bad Gateway" error was attributed to overloaded Valve servers or CDN problems.
By midnight EST, Downdetector complaints dropped significantly, falling from around 10,000 to roughly 2,000. Unofficial Steam status trackers confirmed many platform functions had been restored.
Community Reaction
Players expressed major frustration across social media, Reddit, and Discord. Christmas Day is prime gaming time when people have time off work and school, making the outage timing especially painful.
Community posts included "Anyone having problems reconnecting tonight?" and "There are so many problems." Some players managed to join matches only to face relentless errors, resulting in lost items. In an extraction shooter where loot retention is central to progression, that's a particularly rough outcome.
Players were warned against repeatedly attempting to log in during the outage. Excessive login attempts could potentially flag accounts, and server-side problems meant retry attempts would likely just produce the same errors anyway.
ARC Raiders Background
ARC Raiders launched on October 30, 2025 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Developed by Embark Studios, the game represents the studio's major push into the extraction shooter space.
The game combines PvPvE mechanics with a dystopian setting threatened by mechanized enemies. Players balance looting valuable resources while fighting AI-controlled threats and competing against other human squads. Reliable server connectivity is critical since losing access means losing all gameplay opportunities and potentially losing progress on collected loot.
Since launch, ARC Raiders has received four major patches focused on bug fixes and gameplay balance. The game transitioned from a free-to-play model to premium purchase in 2024. With player counts reaching nearly 480K concurrent users, the Christmas Day outage stands as one of the most visible server issues since the game's launch roughly two months ago.
Where to Get Updates
Official sources for ARC Raiders status updates include:
- @ARCRaidersGame on X
- Official ARC Raiders Discord server
- ARC Raiders official status page
- Downdetector for third-party outage tracking
The Christmas outage highlights the challenges of always-online gaming during high-traffic periods like holidays. Services have largely resumed, but the event underscores how important network stability is for developers running live-service games with large concurrent player bases.
