ParamountArc Raiders has proven its popularity once again, this time by making a coveted cameo in an episode of South Park.
Since arriving in October, Arc Raiders has become one of the biggest games of 2025. Its impressive player count has only grown over time, and it was even nominated for best multiplayer game at The Game Awards 2025, going head to head with the likes of Battlefield 6 and Elden Ring Nightreign.
Now, after all the praise and accolades it’s received, the extrication shooter has just achieved another monumental feat — a surprise cameo in South Park.
Arc Raiders makes surprise Thanksgiving cameo in South Park
During the Season 28 episode “Turkey Trot,” the 2025 Thanksgiving episode, Tolkien Black can be seen sitting on a couch with a controller in his hand. When Cartman bursts in and asks what he’s doing, he simply replies, “Playing Arc Raiders,” while its distinctive gunshots play in the background.
Then, the game can be briefly seen on screen before Cartman unplugs the console, which looks bizarrely like an Xbox 360, despite Arc Raiders arriving two generations later.
One of Embark Studios’ marketing leads, Ashley St. Germain, also shared a LinkedIn post offering a little backstory on the appearance, where she revealed the team was only approached about using the footage two days before the episode aired.
“On Monday South Park inquired if a character could play ARC Raiders in an upcoming episode, on Tuesday we provided footage, and on Wednesday we were in S28’s ‘Turkey Trot’ episode,” she wrote. “Like Tolkien, I guess a lot of us just can’t put down ARC Raiders. Happy Thanksgiving!”
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It’s only a brief cameo, but it just goes to show how much the game has broken out of the niche extraction shooter genre and crossed over into popular culture. South Park made its name by referencing (well, usually roasting) the biggest names and trends of the moment, so Arc Raiders making a sneaky appearance is just another accolade to add to the list.