ARC Raiders is free to play from 8 to 12 October

ARC Raiders is opening its doors to everyone for four days. Embark Studios announced on 2 October that its extraction game will be free to play from 8 to 12 October on Steam, Xbox and PlayStation. The free period covers the full game, and it starts on the very day Frozen Trail arrives, the biggest update since launch. If you’ve been on the fence, the timing could hardly be better. For existing players, it’s mostly a chance to bring friends along without asking them to buy the game first.

At a glance

Four days of ARC Raiders without paying a penny

In its announcement on the official ARC Raiders website, Embark Studios sets the free window from 09:00 UTC on 8 October to 08:00 UTC on 12 October. In the UK, that means it opens at 10:00 on Thursday and closes at 09:00 on Monday. The studio is clear that players get the full game, with no cut-down version or limited mode.

The offer applies across all three stores where the game is sold: Steam, Xbox and PlayStation. As with a normal session, you’ll need an Embark ID account, an account on your platform of choice and an internet connection, according to the terms listed at the bottom of the official page. The game is rated for players aged 13 and over.

Embark Studios also frames the event as a treat ahead of the game’s first birthday. ARC Raiders came out on 30 October 2025, and the studio notes in its Steam post that the anniversary is close. Four free days just before that date are a simple way to fill the servers at the moment the content is refreshed.

Frozen Trail lands on day one of the free period

Nothing about the timing is accidental: Frozen Trail goes live on 8 October, the same day the free window opens. According to Embark’s Steam announcement, the update adds a new map, Pendola Pass, an icy region where Raiders try to draw the machines’ fire away from the Rust Belt. It also brings new ARC enemies, including a colossal ARC Frigate, plus new weapons and gadgets. The free-play post on the official site ties all of this to the story, too: the downed Emperor, and the ARC response it is bound to provoke, now pose a threat to the whole Rust Belt.

Progression gets an overhaul too. Frozen Trail introduces a reworked skill tree, a new Reward Pass system and customisable Raider Outposts. We broke down everything Frozen Trail brings on 8 October when it was first shown, map by map and system by system.

For newcomers, there’s a useful catch. Pendola Pass normally unlocks as you progress. During the free period, Embark says new players can head straight there if they team up with someone who has already unlocked the map. Turning up with an experienced friend means seeing the new content from your very first match.

What the ARC Raiders free weekend means for players

If you’re new, the idea is the classic extraction loop: you head to the surface, grab whatever you can and try to get back alive with your loot. Other players can work with you, or turn on you to take what you’ve found. Four days is more than enough to find out whether that tension is for you.

The influx also comes as Embark Studios talks openly about cheating. On 30 September, the studio posted a long message on Steam about the problem, promising tougher sanctions. With the game open to everyone for four days, the studio will be judged on how well it keeps matches clean.

More is lined up after the free period. ARC Raiders is due to test a mode without player-versus-player combat from 13 to 20 October, as we explained in our piece on the ARC Raiders PvE toggle test. For anyone who discovers the game during the free days, that test could offer a calmer second way in a few days later.