[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/gaming\/embarks-arc-raiders-ditches-free-to-play-for-better-gameplay-focus\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/gaming\/embarks-arc-raiders-ditches-free-to-play-for-better-gameplay-focus\/","headline":"Embark’s Arc Raiders Ditches Free-to-Play for Better Gameplay Focus","name":"Embark’s Arc Raiders Ditches Free-to-Play for Better Gameplay Focus","description":"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…","datePublished":"2024-08-20","dateModified":"2024-08-20","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/author\/andre\/#Person","name":"Andrej Kovacevic","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/author\/andre\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/techloot-editor-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/techloot-editor-150x150.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Tech Loot","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techlootio.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/techloot-footer-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/techlootio.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/techloot-footer-logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot_1202.jpg","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot_1202.jpg","height":362,"width":645},"url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/gaming\/embarks-arc-raiders-ditches-free-to-play-for-better-gameplay-focus\/","video":[null,{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8","name":"The Best Map in Hunt: Showdown 1896 Just Released","description":"Mammon's Gulch...\n\n\u25b6 BUY MADMONQ AND HELP YOUR GAMING PERFORMANCE & YOUR HEALTH\n\ud83d\udc8a https:\/\/www.madmonq.gg\/rachtaz\n\n\u25b6 BUY BEST PC CASES & OTHER HARDWARE\n\ud83d\udda5\ufe0f https:\/\/bit.ly\/3HlwrCv\n\n\u25b6 GET 10% OFF ALL HUNT: SHOWDOWN DLCS WITH CODE \"RACHTAZ\"\n\ud83e\udd20 https:\/\/eu-shop.crytek.com\/?ref=1812\n\n\u25ba Twitch - https:\/\/www.twitch.tv\/rachtaz\n\u25ba Discord - https:\/\/discord.gg\/dzu97rE\n\u25ba Twitter - https:\/\/twitter.com\/rachta_z\n\u25ba Instagram - https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/rachta_z\/\n\nThumbnail made by @quinx\n\n\u25ba PC Specs\nCPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-13900K\nGPU: GeForce RTX 4090\nRAM: 64GB 5600 MHz\nMonitor: ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM 240Hz\nMouse: Razer DeathAdder V3\nKeyboard: Wooting 60HE\nHeadphones: HyperX Cloud III Wireless\nCase: Fractal Torrent\n\n\ud83d\udc4d LIKE, COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE TO HELP ME OUT FOR FREE! \ud83d\udc4d\n\n00:00 - Game 1\n04:31 - Game 2\n09:19 - Game 3\n13:56 - Game 4","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDBWhay86i8\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDBWhay86i8\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDBWhay86i8\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDBWhay86i8\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/mDBWhay86i8\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2024-08-20T16:00:52+00:00","duration":"PT19M54S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mDBWhay86i8","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC7ueO3rJYGmt-Gg1C6f_T3Q#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UC7ueO3rJYGmt-Gg1C6f_T3Q","name":"RachtaZ","description":"Hunt: Showdown 1896 content creator making all kinds of videos!\n\nGuides, Memes, Reviews, Compilations and more!\n\n","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/cyaXbKmp-E8jl5t7cAFa9zmRphrfp1NjRHK41xAuBKNPSWn27A9jzALpBGHOwEJ72k--aYAG=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":55393}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mDBWhay86i8#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1526}]}],"about":["Gaming"],"wordCount":712,"keywords":["#ArcRaiders","#EmbarkStudios","#GameLaunch","#GamingCommunity","#GamingNews","#TheFinals"],"articleBody":"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 Gr\u00f8ndal explained the reasoning behind this change:“You may remember that we initially planned for Arc Raiders to be a free-to-play game,” Gr\u00f8ndal 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, Gr\u00f8ndal 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.”(Image credit: Embark Studios)Gr\u00f8ndal’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. Gr\u00f8ndal 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, Gr\u00f8ndal added: “This shift allows us to focus on what truly matters for this game\u2014creating an engaging, balanced, and replayable action survival experience.” Like other service games from Sony, Arc Raiders will be priced at $40.Gameplay RevealThe press briefing also gave us our first in-depth look at Arc Raiders gameplay. Players assume the role of a raider\u2014inhabitants 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."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Gaming","item":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/gaming\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Embark’s Arc Raiders Ditches Free-to-Play for Better Gameplay Focus","item":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/gaming\/embarks-arc-raiders-ditches-free-to-play-for-better-gameplay-focus\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]