Arc Raiders will become free-to-play shortly before a major update
October promises to be an eventful month for Arc Raiders. The Frozen Trail update will be released on October 8th. Shortly after, a beta test for PvE matchmaking will also begin, offering a significantly more relaxed experience – just what many players have been requesting. And the best part: everyone can try out the Frozen Trail update, as its release coincides with the game’s upcoming free weekend.
From October 8th at 5:00 AM ET to October 12th at 4:00 AM ET, Arc Raiders will be free to play on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. Although the trial period is time-limited, players will have full access to the game and can explore it to their heart’s content during this time.
A free trial version of Arc Raiders will be released together with a major update
Arc Raiders still has a fairly active player base, even though the number of concurrent players has dropped significantly since launch. Fortunately, the free weekend coinciding with the launch of the Frozen Trail update will surely bring many players back to the game. The Frozen Trail update introduces a new map, a battle pass, a patrol ship (a frigate), various new enemies and challenges, weapon modifications, a camera gadget, and weapon skins.
It’s great that Embark Studios is giving players the opportunity to try out the game. Hopefully, this won’t exacerbate Arc Raiders’ cheating problem, as the free trial period essentially opens the floodgates to a large number of players.
Although Embark Studios has made considerable efforts to keep cheaters out, controlling them has proven difficult. Frozen Trail is not expected to include additional anti-cheat measures, so we hope the existing safeguards will be sufficient to stop cheaters during the free weekend.
Arc Raiders is available for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
