Embark’s Arc Raiders Ditches Free-to-Play for Better Gameplay Focus

Embark Studios has announced a significant shift in their upcoming game, Arc Raiders, moving away from a free-to-play model to a traditional paid release. Priced at $40, Arc Raiders will launch next year, with a public playtest scheduled for October.

Arc Raiders first made waves in 2021 as a free-to-play co-op shooter set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by dangerous robots. Developed by Embark Studios, a team backed by Nexon and composed of former DICE developers, Arc Raiders was initially meant to be the studio’s debut game. However, development shifted focus to their other title, The Finals, delaying Arc Raiders. Last year, Embark revealed that Arc Raiders had evolved from a pure PvE co-op shooter to a PvPvE extraction shooter.

During Gamescom Opening Night Live, Embark reintroduced Arc Raiders to the public, revealing that the game would no longer be free-to-play, opting instead for a traditional price tag.

In a recent press briefing, executive producer Aleksander Grøndal explained the reasoning behind this change:

“You may remember that we initially planned for Arc Raiders to be a free-to-play game,” Grøndal said. “After careful consideration, we decided that a premium business model better suits the experience we’re building.”

When questioned about why this model is more suitable for Arc Raiders compared to games like The Finals or Nexon’s latest hit The First Descendant, Grøndal offered a candid response:

“For free-to-play games, the challenge lies in balancing engaging content with the need to encourage players to make purchases,” he said. “For Arc Raiders, this shift allows us to focus more on gameplay, fun, and meaningful choices as the game evolves. We can optimize the game differently and offer more rewards as players progress.”

Grøndal’s comments reflect a broader sentiment about the free-to-play model, which, while accessible, often inundates players with monetization tactics such as battle pass upgrades, store updates, and in-game ads. By moving away from this model, Embark aims to prioritize the player’s experience in Arc Raiders.

He also clarified that this decision was specific to Arc Raiders and does not necessarily reflect the approach for Embark’s other games. Grøndal hinted that while Arc Raiders won’t have to focus on in-game monetization, he did not explicitly rule out the possibility of microtransactions.

With this decision, Arc Raiders joins a growing list of multiplayer games betting on an upfront purchase model rather than the increasingly crowded free-to-play space. Recent successes like Helldivers 2, which charged $40 and became a hit, suggest that there is still a viable market for premium multiplayer games.

In a press release, Grøndal added: “This shift allows us to focus on what truly matters for this game—creating an engaging, balanced, and replayable action survival experience.” Like other service games from Sony, Arc Raiders will be priced at $40.

Gameplay Reveal

The press briefing also gave us our first in-depth look at Arc Raiders gameplay. Players assume the role of a raider—inhabitants of an underground city who regularly venture to the surface to scavenge for supplies. The surface is fraught with danger, featuring AI-controlled bots that attack anything that moves, as well as other raiders (players) competing for the same resources.

While the setup might seem like a typical extraction shooter, Arc Raiders distinguishes itself with its focus on PvE robot combat. Similar to Hunt: Showdown, it appears that the environment will be just as deadly as other players, making careful movement through bot-infested areas crucial.

We also caught a glimpse of the gunplay. Arc Raiders is a third-person shooter, with loud and impactful ballistics, far-reaching sound effects, and bouncy grenades. However, we did not see any of the server-side destruction technology seen in The Finals, suggesting that feature might be exclusive to that game.

Additional Details:

• Embark hasn’t finalized the maximum lobby size yet.
• New players can join an ongoing session as others extract from the map.
• Arc Raiders will feature multiple large maps within a shared larger region, similar to Escape From Tarkov.
• The game will also include some form of underground base building or customization.

Arc Raiders is slated for release sometime in 2025, but the first public playtest will run from October 24 to 27. Interested players can sign up on the game’s Steam page.