Is Arc Raiders free to play?

Arc Raiders is shaping up to be a promising third-person extraction shooter, thanks to its tight gunplay and elaborate level design. It’s the latest title from Embark Studios, the developers behind 2023’s viral FPS, The Final.

​While there’s no shortage of first-person extraction shooters in the market, there’s a severe lack of their third-person counterparts, and Arc Raiders looks to fill in that void. Fortunately, the game’s early reception has been fairly positive. While not revolutionary, it has the potential to scratch the itch of nail-biting tension that games of this genre offer. But is Arc Raiders a free-to-play title?

Arc Raiders is a premium title. The standard edition costs $40, whereas its deluxe edition costs $60 on all platforms. This may come off as a surprise, especially since The Final is a free-to-play title.

​It’s worth noting that most extraction shooters on the market don’t follow the freemium model. Popular titles like Hunt Showdown and Escape from Tarkov are premium games that cost $30-40. Bungie’s upcoming first-person extraction shooter, Marathon, will also be a premium paid title. Since its direct competitors charge a one-time fee, it’s not surprising that Arc Raiders is taking the same route instead of going out of its way to break the mould, at least not in this area.

If you were hoping for Arc Raiders to be a free-to-play title, there’s bad news. It was initially announced as a free-to-play co-op shooter at The Game Awards 2021. Later in 2023, Embark Studios revealed they are making it an extraction shooter instead. After two successful public playtests, the studio decided to strip the game’s free-to-play title and replace it with a $40 price tag.

​All the design complexities aside, it sure seems Arc Raiders didn’t have a smooth development cycle. However, as mentioned above, the initial reception of the game has been positive, which means the developers were able to turn things around for the better.

​Arc Raiders launches Oct. 30 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X.

If you want to play Arc Raiders at launch, it’s worth taking a look at the different pre-order bonuses its various editions can get you. 

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