Embark Studios is bringing serious competition to the extraction shooter genre in 2025 with ARC Raiders. The futuristic shooter has all the hallmarks of a classic PvPvE experience, and it would score more points if it were free to play and didn’t have a price to pay.
ARC Raiders became Steam’s most popular Extraction Shooter with the release of its final test phase before launch—the open beta Server Slam Test. Developer Embark Studios (known for The Finals) has worked very hard to ensure it learns from its mistakes and stands a chance of survival at release.
One way to get more people on board is to make ARC Raiders free-to-play. Foregoing a price might be a financial gamble, but there would be benefits. Let’s raid the information cabinet for you.
Is ARC Raiders Free-to-Play?
ARC Raiders will not be a free-to-play online multiplayer experience, and you will have to pay an initial one-time fee to set foot in Speranza and beyond!
There’s a definite line in the sand when it comes to online shooters now: Those that are free-to-play, and those that want a fee upfront. Naturally, games like Concord have only stoked the fires of the debate more. When you have a Warzone, a Fortnite, a Marvel Rivals, or an Apex Legends charging nothing to play the base game, it’s only natural to question if other new releases should follow suit.
However, Embark Studios has decided against making ARC Raiders free-to-play. It doesn’t mean it won’t make the transition in the future, but for now, you need to dip into your pockets to play it.
ARC Raiders Price, Explained
The base edition of ARC Raiders costs $39.99 or £30.99, whereas you need to stump up $59.99 or £49.99 for the more expensive Deluxe Edition.
Obviously, you don’t need to buy the upgraded version, but the Deluxe Edition content and bonus rewards are pretty tempting. The Standard Edition offers the thing you’re after the most—the game. If you go early, you might even be able to get your hands on the ARC Raiders pre-order bonuses.
Here’s a mini-breakdown of what’s included in each edition of the game, and a reaffirmation of the cost.
| Contents | Standard Edition | Deluxe Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99 or £30.99 | $59.99 or £49.99 |
| Copy of base game | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-order bonuses | Yes (If pre-orderered before launch) | Yes (If pre-ordered before launch) |
| Valente Outfit | No | Yes |
| Pathfinder Backpack | No | Yes |
| Blanket Roll Backpack Attachment | No | Yes |
| Lip Scar Face Cosmetic | No | Yes |
| Cowboy Scrappy Outfit And Body Type | No | Yes |
| Finger Gun: Rapid Fire Emote | No | Yes |
| 2,400 Raider Tokens | No | Yes |
Which ARC Raiders edition will you go for? Are you disappointed to learn that the extraction shooter isn’t free-to-play? Let us know your thoughts and more through the Insider Gaming Discord.
We’ve got much more ARC Raiders content here at IG. Read about any potential launch Early Access, Crossplay or Cross-Platform capabilities, and if the shooter is coming to Xbox Game Pass.
Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
More from Andrew Highton
Free to play is dumb. That means the company has to make money another way. By either a type of battle pass, or spewing out cosmetics. It’s very boring playing a game that has no rewards unless you dish out money for it all the time.
This is silly. Developers have to make money somehow, and F2P models nearly always transition into the most toxic of Live Service business models.
Up front price doesn’t mean it won’t EVER go into an awful live service model, but it goes a long way towards preventing it.
I’d rather pay it it all up upfront, than f2p any day..you end up paying akot mote for ‘f2p’ in the end
Initial fee is better than f2p, because it sets a higher threshold for cheaters, because there is money involved when they get banned. Most f2p games suffer from a higher cheater count than payed games
All the comments so far are excellent and 100% true. Arc Raiders team are amazing and I am excited for it.