Price and Editions

ARC Raiders costs $39.99 on Steam, or $59.99 for the Deluxe Edition, as of Oct 31, 2026. It is not free to play; it was free only for a weekend, Oct 8 to 12, 2026. Six paid DLC are on Steam, led by the $29.99 Frozen Trail Collector Set.

20:06 ARC Raiders costs $39.99 on Steam, and the Deluxe Edition $59.99, read Oct 31, 2026, with no discount showing that day. It is a paid game, not free to play: Embark first announced it as free-to-play, then changed to a $40 premium title on Aug 20, 2024. The only free period so far was a promotional weekend, Oct 8 to 12, 2026. All paid extras are cosmetic or tokens, with one small exception on this page. Prices below are Steam's in US dollars; prices on other stores were not read. In the clip, Embark's developers explain why it dropped free-to-play.

Quick facts

Standard	$39.99
Deluxe Edition	$59.99
Upgrade to Deluxe	$19.99
Frozen Trail Collector Set	$29.99
Other cosmetic sets	$19.99 each
Free to play	No
Free weekend	Oct 8 to 12, 2026, ended

Sources: Steam store page, Upgrade to Deluxe, Frozen Trail Collector Set, The Bonecrown Set, all read Oct 31, 2026.

Standard and Deluxe

The Deluxe Edition adds what the $19.99 upgrade sells on its own: The Wanderer Set, the Lip Scar, the Finger Gun Rapid Fire Emote, a Scrappy Body Type and Outfit, and 2,400 Raider Tokens. None of it changes the game's rules, and the tokens are spendable on anything in the store (see Raider Tokens and Reward Passes).

The ARC Raiders Deluxe Edition art, a Raider in a wide hat with a gun drawn in blue on cream, from Embark's Steam post Embark Studios

Pre-orders opened on Sep 22, 2025 with bonuses that were tied to that window: all pre-orders got the Lucky Duck Bundle (Hatchling Backpack, Golden Rubber Duck charm), and Deluxe pre-orders added the Astro Bundle and a Scrappy Cowboy skin. A Punch Hands emote was added as a further bonus on Nov 6, 2025.

DLC

Six DLC are on Steam, counting the Deluxe upgrade.

DLC	Price	Released	Contents
Upgrade to Deluxe	$19.99		Listed above
The Bonecrown Set	$19.99	Dec 16, 2025	Cosmetic set
The Wasp Hunter Set	$19.99	Mar 31, 2026	Cosmetic set
The Reaver Set	$19.99	Jun 16, 2026	Cosmetic set
The Tick Hunter Set	$19.99	Aug 18, 2026	Outfit in four colors, Field Telephone backpack, Tick Trophy charm, Spider Tattoo, 2,400 Raider Tokens
Frozen Trail Collector Set	$29.99	Oct 8, 2026	See below

Prices read Oct 31, 2026.

Frozen Trail Collector Set

11:24 The Collector Set holds the Renzo set, the Dragon's Breath Weapon Stencil, the Bob hair style, 2,400 Raider Tokens, the Premium Reward Pass, a Retro Sofa for the Outpost and the Banjo blueprint. With the pass's own return, Embark counts up to 3,550 tokens in total. It is the only way to get the Banjo blueprint, and the Banjo is an instrument. The clip introduces the Banjo.

A poster of a Raider in a metal face mask with rows of small item tiles along the bottom. — The Frozen Trail Collector Set DLC: the Renzo outfit, the Dragon's Breath stencil and 2,400 tokens, in Embark's art Embark Studios

Is ARC Raiders free?

No. The free weekend ran from Oct 8 at 11:00 CEST to Oct 12 at 10:00 CEST, 2026 and gave the full game, "ahead of our first anniversary." MassivelyOP noted on Oct 5 that this was temporary, not a move to free-to-play. It lifted Steam's count to 185,443 on Oct 11 (see Player Count and Sales). No later free period was announced as of Oct 31, 2026. A closed alpha with Tencent ran in China in July 2026; no source read gives a price there.

No dated first-sale discount could be confirmed from a reliable source, and the store showed none on Oct 31, 2026. Where to play is on Platforms and Crossplay.

Frequently asked questions

How much does ARC Raiders cost? ARC Raiders costs $39.99 on Steam for the standard edition and $59.99 for the Deluxe Edition, as read on Oct 31, 2026.

Is ARC Raiders free to play? No. ARC Raiders is a paid game. It was free only during a promotional weekend from Oct 8 to Oct 12, 2026.

What is in the ARC Raiders Deluxe Edition? The ARC Raiders Deluxe Edition adds The Wanderer Set, the Lip Scar, the Finger Gun Rapid Fire Emote, a Scrappy Body Type and Outfit, and 2,400 Raider Tokens. An upgrade from the standard edition costs $19.99 on Steam.

What is the ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Collector Set? It is a $29.99 ARC Raiders DLC from Oct 8, 2026, with the Renzo set, a Weapon Stencil, a hair style, 2,400 Raider Tokens, the Premium Reward Pass, a sofa for the Outpost and the only source of the Banjo blueprint.

Does ARC Raiders have paid DLC? Yes. ARC Raiders has six DLC on Steam as of Oct 31, 2026, including the Deluxe upgrade: four $19.99 cosmetic sets and the $29.99 Frozen Trail Collector Set. Maps and weapons in updates have come free.

Will ARC Raiders go free to play? Embark has announced no such change as of Oct 31, 2026. The October 2026 free weekend was reported as temporary.