ARC Raiders Went From Free-to-Play to $40 Because of Helldivers 2

As much praise as Embark Studios is getting for ARC Raiders nowadays, there was a period after its reveal where the development team struggled to find the fun. However, when shifting from a co-op PvE shooter to a PvEvP extraction shooter, and from free-to-play to a full-priced game, the company looked at similar titles like Helldivers 2.

“It’s something we discussed as the game went from free-to-play to a traditional business model. We basically looked at games like Helldivers and other games and decided, ‘OK, that is where we should sit,’” said Patrick Söderlund in a play session/interview with GamesBeat.

“We made that decision, whether that was right or wrong, one can argue. I like the fact that the game is relatively affordable and that people can come in and try the game.”

As for why it settled on $40, it’s – believe it or not – because the studio thought this wouldn’t offend anyone. In retrospect, it may seem far-fetched, but considering ARC Raiders doesn’t have a campaign, the concerns were valid.

“We’d rather make people feel like it’s totally worth 40 bucks. I hope that people, given how much time they seem to spend in the game, feel like we’ve given them value for money. That’s where we want to be.”

It’s hard to argue that this strategy hasn’t worked. ARC Raiders reportedly sailed past 12 million sales last weekend, with seven million on Steam alone. It also topped Steam’s weekly sales charts for the final week of 2025, and apparently helped propel the platform to its most lucrative December ever with over $1.6 billion in gross revenue.

The critical reception has also been quite strong, with ARC Raiders scoring an 86 Metascore based on 57 reviews. It went on to win Best Multiplayer at The Game Awards, beating out competition like Battlefield 6, Elden Ring Nightreign, PEAK and Split Fiction. Check out our review on why it’s worth playing.