A year into its life and 16 million copies sold, ARC Raiders is making its biggest push yet to bring new players into the fold. Embark Studios has announced a free trial window running from October 8 to October 12, timed directly to the launch of Frozen Trails, the game's largest content update since release.
The timing is deliberate. Free trials work best when there's something new to show off, and Frozen Trails gives curious players a reason to stick around beyond the novelty of trying something for free.
What Frozen Trails actually brings to the table
Frozen Trails is being positioned as the definitive post-launch content drop for Arc Raiders. The update introduces new environments, expanded enemy encounters, and meaningful changes to the extraction loop that have been on the community's wishlist for months.
Here's the thing: the timing matters beyond just the free trial. Embark has also scheduled a dedicated PvE matchmaking test for October 13, the day the free trial ends. That's a direct response to what the studio describes as a surprisingly cooperative player base. A large portion of Arc Raiders players have been playing nice with strangers in the raid zones rather than hunting them down, and Embark is building around that behavior rather than fighting it.
Sixteen million reasons to run a free trial
Arc Raiders crossed 16 million copies sold roughly a year after launch. That's a strong number for an extraction shooter in a genre that has historically struggled to hold audiences past the first few months. Free-to-play competitors have a structural advantage in acquisition, so a paid game pulling those numbers signals that the core loop is landing.
The free trial is a smart play at this stage. Players who missed the initial launch window now have a low-friction entry point during what is arguably the game's best content moment. If Frozen Trails delivers, the conversion rate from trial to purchase should be meaningful.
For anyone jumping in fresh, you'll want to get your settings dialed before dropping into a raid. The Arc Raiders PC settings optimization guide covers exactly how to squeeze the best performance out of the game across different hardware configs, which matters a lot in a game where frame drops can cost you an extraction.
The bigger picture for Embark
Frozen Trails and the free trial aren't happening in isolation. Embark Studios, owned by Nexon, recently confirmed that both Arc Raiders and stablemate The Finals are being developed into film and TV adaptations in partnership with Chernin Entertainment, the production company behind this year's Backrooms feature film. Studio CEO Patrick Söderlund described the deal as part of a broader push toward what he called "deeply integrated transmedia experiences."
That's a significant bet on the Arc Raiders brand having legs well beyond the game itself. Sixteen million copies gives the IP real cultural weight, and a successful Frozen Trails update only strengthens the case for adaptation.
For players already in the game, Frozen Trails is also a good moment to tighten up your economy. The Arc Raiders Raider Coins farming guide breaks down the most efficient extraction strategies and loot prioritization methods to keep your loadout funded as new content rolls in.
The free trial runs October 8 to 12 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The Frozen Trails update goes live alongside it. If you've been on the fence about Arc Raiders, this is the window to find out whether the extraction loop clicks for you.
