Price and Purchasing Advice#

ARC Raiders is a premium extraction shooter developed by Embark Studios, released worldwide on October 30, 2025. This page answers three questions: how much does it cost now, when was the historical low, and which edition is worth it. All prices are a snapshot as of 2026-10-15; live store prices take precedence.

Background worth noting: the game was first announced at The Game Awards 2021 as a free-to-play title, then switched to a premium model in August 2024 with a $39.99 launch price. That model switch shaped its discount history — from launch to October 2026 only three discount tiers have appeared, a more conservative pace than most online games, which is exactly why a “wait for the historical low” strategy is worth calculating carefully here.

How Much Is It Now? (As of 2026-10-15)#

The US Standard Edition is currently 50% off at $19.99 (list price $39.99), with the same price on Xbox US, and a single purchase covers both Xbox console and Windows PC; the official half-price sale runs from 2026-10-08 to 10-15 across Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox simultaneously, with the Deluxe Edition and Deluxe Upgrade Pack included.

Three supplementary notes:

1. The China region current price figure is missing: what can be verified is a launch price of 289 CNY (Deluxe Edition 434 CNY, announced September 2025) and that this 50% discount is a historical low, but there is no reliable source for the discounted CNY price, so no figure is invented here. Just open the Steam China store page and check the live listing before ordering; a 50% discount works out to roughly the 145 CNY tier, for reference only.
2. Deluxe Edition discounted prices are not verified platform by platform: official announcements confirm the Deluxe Edition and Deluxe Upgrade Pack are half price as well, but no reliable source was found for the discounted list price on each platform; again, the live store page takes precedence.
3. Epic Store participation in this sale is unverified: the official -50% announcement covers three platforms, but the live listing on the Epic store page could not be confirmed; check the Epic store page before buying.

When Was the Historical Low?#

Right now is the historical low: SteamDB’s lowest recorded price is -50% at $19.99, dated 2026-10-01, while the official half-price sale runs from 2026-10-08 to 10-15 — in other words, the price at the time of writing is exactly the lowest since launch, and the window is narrow.

Two conclusions can be drawn from this discount history: first, the price cuts follow a “one tier every six months, deepening each time” rhythm — from -20% to -25% took seven months, and reaching -50% took another three; second, this -50% is backed by an official announcement, a clear all-platform event rather than a partial promotion, with higher credibility and reach than the previous two. On the China side, the previous maximum discount was only 25%, so this 50% discount is likewise a historical low. The free trial window is worth recording too: the official free play week ran from 2026-10-08 09:00 to 10-12 08:00 (UTC), opening the full game on all platforms with progress retained, deliberately overlapping the half-price sale — try it free first, then buy at the historical low if you like it, which is the standard play for this window.

Standard Edition or Deluxe Edition?#

Go with the Standard Edition: every difference in the Deluxe Edition is cosmetic, with no effect on gameplay, progress, or combat power; starting with the $39.99 Standard Edition and paying the difference later for the Deluxe Upgrade Pack, if you end up liking the game, is the safer spending path.

The Deluxe Edition includes the following:

Why the cosmetic edition has limited value: the 2400 tokens only buy cosmetics and never touch stats; outfit content also rotates through the in-game shop, so it is not an exclusive, permanently retired resource. Four cosmetic set DLCs have shipped since launch — The Bonecrown Set (2025-12-16), The Wasp Hunter Set (2026-03-31), The Reaver Set (2026-06-16), and The Collector Set (2026-10-08) — plus the Deluxe Upgrade Pack added on 2025-10-30, so cosmetic content arrives at a fairly steady rate, and picking the individual sets you like is often better value than the whole bundle. Pricing for each set could not be verified, so no figures are listed here; for a full comparison of editions and cosmetics, see Shop and Cosmetics System.

Is There a Free Trial, a PS Plus Giveaway, or Game Pass?#

There is no subscription-based free access: the game is not in the Xbox Game Pass library, and as of October 2026 there is no confirmation of it entering PS Plus; the official free play week ended on 2026-10-12, so waiting for a “free window” means watching for the next free event.

The verified subscription and trial status:

1. Free play week: 2026-10-08 09:00 to 10-12 08:00 (UTC), with the full game open on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation, and progress retained (PS5 in Germany requires a €0.25 processing fee).
2. Xbox Free Play Days: included from 2026-10-08 to 10-11, concurrent with the free play week.
3. Game Pass status: the Xbox store notes “playable via cloud with Game Pass Essential/Premium/Ultimate, but the game must be purchased” — the subscription only provides a cloud play channel, and the base game still has to be bought.
4. PS Plus: no confirmation of it joining the monthly games as of October 2026; in addition, online play on PS5 requires a PS Plus subscription, a hidden cost to factor into the total.
5. Xbox console online play: requires the relevant online multiplayer subscription, likewise a fixed cost on top of the purchase price.
6. Cloud gaming: GeForce NOW supports streaming a purchased copy and does not change the purchase requirement.

The takeaway for subscribers: do not subscribe to Game Pass just to play this — you would still have to buy the game. Cross-platform progress syncs through an Embark ID account, and each platform requires a separate purchase (Xbox Play Anywhere is the only exception), so “where you play” decides “where you buy.”

Third-Party Key Markets Are Cheaper — Should You Buy There?#

Cheaper, yes, but not recommended for most players: the historical low on third-party key markets is about $15.87 (early July 2026, roughly 40% off), about four dollars below the official historical low; but these are unofficial channels with no guarantee of sourcing or after-sales support, while the official store’s current 50% off $19.99 is already very close to that price.

Tracking data backs up the risk/reward ratio: a 105-day sample of third-party tracking against the official store shows that during the tracking window the official store was the cheapest channel for everything on only 1 day (2026-10-01) — meaning that most of the time the official store is the cheapest legitimate channel, and the key market’s low-price windows are extremely short and unstable. Another key market currently quotes €21.99 (about -45%), again not far off the official price. Given the risks of unknown sourcing and no recourse for failed activations, saving a few dollars is not worth that uncertainty, especially since progress here is tied to an Embark ID account and a channel dispute could affect account security.

Wait for a Discount or Buy Now?#

Buy now. As of 2026-10-15 there are four reasons, listed one by one:

1. It is the historical low right now: $19.99 is the lowest price recorded by SteamDB, and the 10-08 to 10-15 official half-price sale is a clear three-platform event, not a flash sale you have to camp for; it ends on October 15, so hesitation means missing the window.
2. Content is at a high point: Frozen Trail 2.0, launched 2026-10-08, is the biggest update yet (new map Pendola Pass, new enemies, a skill tree rework, a rewards pass, and outpost gameplay), with the 2.0.2 fix patch following on 10-09, so starting now means collecting the version’s benefits immediately.
3. The update cadence is predictable: Embark announced in May 2026 a shift to two major content updates per year, so under the premium model later content will most likely keep coming, with no risk of a content drought after purchase.
4. Reputation has reference value: roughly 417,000 Steam reviews with an 82% positive rating (2026-10-12, third-party tracking data; note that player counts and review counts fluctuate considerably), a steady positive standing for the extraction shooter genre.

The only case for not buying immediately: you have never touched this genre and are unsure whether you can handle the high-pressure “die and lose your gear” loop — then wait for the next free trial event, since official free weekends will most likely return alongside major updates. On edition choice: players on both platforms should prefer the Xbox Play Anywhere version (one purchase covers console and PC); PC-only players can just take the Steam Standard Edition; the Deluxe Edition is only recommended for players who clearly want the cosmetic sets. For the tokens and shop rotation that existing players care about, see Shop and Cosmetics System.

Three Checks Before Ordering#

Beyond price, these three things decide which edition and which platform to buy; go through them one by one before ordering:

1. Confirm your play device: PC only means the Steam Standard Edition; wanting both console and PC means the Xbox Play Anywhere version, which covers both ends with one purchase and is the only combination that avoids buying twice; the PS5 version additionally requires confirming you have a PS Plus subscription, or online play will not work.
2. Confirm account ownership: cross-platform progress depends on an Embark ID account, with per-platform progress sync and gear unlocks all hanging off the account system; if a copy bought through a third-party key channel has problems, what is affected is not just that one order but potentially the account itself, another layer of the reason not to use key markets.
3. Confirm the event deadline: this official half-price sale ends 2026-10-15, and the free play week already ended on 10-12; miss this round and there is no official announcement of the next discount tier or date, leaving only live store prices.

Related Guides#

• Getting Started Guide: how to play your first raid after launch, from matchmaking rules to extraction discipline.
• FAQ and Edition Answers: quick answers on edition differences, matchmaking rules, lost blueprints, and other frequent questions.
• Shop and Cosmetics System: edition content comparison, cosmetic set timeline, and spending boundaries.
• Version Updates and Events: major update content and event windows such as Frozen Trail.
• Performance Optimization Guide: settings tuning to make the game run more smoothly after you buy.