Turns out you have Helldivers 2 to thank for Arc Raiders moving away from a free-to-play model

A few years ago, it would have been pretty easy to imagine Helldivers 2 releasing as a free-to-play game. It is a live service game after all, most of those are free-to-play because studios want to reduce the barrier to entry. Instead, it launched as a paid-for, $40 game, a far cry from free, but not the $80-$100 releases we’re seeing more and more of. And it’s because Arrowhead made the decision to do so that Arc Raiders developer Embark did the exact same thing for their own shooter.

This comes from Embark founder Patrick Söderlund who spoke of the studio’s decision to shift the game from free-to-play to paid-for in 2024 in an interview with GamesBeat’s Dean Takahashi. “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,'” Söderlund said. “”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.”

Apparently, the game’s lack of a campaign was a factor as well, with Söderlund noting he wouldn’t want a high price tag to “be an offender for someone. 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.”

Certainly seems like it paid off for Embark, given that Arc Raiders was apparently one of the best performing games of 2025, so, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing more campaign-less, online shooters going the premium route in future. Like, for example, Bungie’s yet to prove itself Marathon, which has also opted for the 40 bucks option.