ARC Raiders Is Free Until Tomorrow Morning. Tonight Is the Night.

THE INTERNET

If you have been even slightly curious about ARC Raiders, this is the part of the movie where the clock is ticking and the music gets loud. Embark Studios’ extraction shooter has been free to play all weekend — the full game, on Xbox, PlayStation and PC, no subscription required on Xbox — and the window slams shut early Monday morning. Today is your last full day. Tonight is the night.

We covered the free weekend when it opened on Thursday, but consider this the last-call version: everything you can still play, download, and claim before the free games go back behind the paywall.

The main event: ARC Raiders, free, with its biggest update ever

The headline has not changed since Thursday, but the urgency has. Embark timed the free weekend to coincide with the Frozen Trail update, which the studio describes as ARC Raiders’ biggest update since launch. The free period runs from October 8 at 09:00 UTC until October 12 at 08:00 UTC — that is 4:00 AM Eastern, 1:00 AM Pacific on Monday morning. Xbox’s own Free Play Days wording says free access expires at the end of Sunday, October 11. Split the difference however you want; the practical advice is the same: download it today, play it tonight.

This is not a demo with the training wheels on. Players get access to the complete game, including the new Frozen Trail content — and new players can even jump straight into the headline new map, Pendola Pass, by grouping with a player who has already unlocked it. So if you have a friend who already plays, that is your fast lane to the new stuff.

What is actually in Frozen Trail? The short list: Pendola Pass, a frozen settlement past the mountains where, per Embark, “one of the Emperors has fallen” — now patrolled by a giant Frigate. New movement tools led by the grappling hook, plus the Tether Launcher and Yank Grenade. New enemies: the Bully, a big aggressive machine that gallops at your position, and the Skulker, an ambush type that waits at the edge of your vision. Customizable outposts in the Raider Den, a new Research Workstation, and Amplified Weapons — a fifth quality tier with branching upgrades across 15 weapons. A 60-level Reward Pass (free and premium tracks) replaces Raider Decks going forward, and a free Legacy Pass bundles rewards from previous decks without wiping what you already earned.

And the part that matters most for tonight’s decision: anything you earn during the free weekend carries over if you buy the game. The base game and Deluxe editions are 50% off through October 15. So the play is obvious — raid tonight for free, and if it clicks, buy it at half price with your progress intact.

The rest of Xbox’s Free Play Days: six more games

Xbox expanded this weekend’s Free Play Days lineup from three games to seven, making it one of the strongest lineups in a while. The split: Screamer and Family Man are available in full to Game Pass members, while ARC Raiders, High On Life 2, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, Little Nightmares III and Rogue Waters are offered as timed trials open to everyone — no subscription needed.

One caution before you start downloading: the trials are time-limited, and the stated durations vary by title — check the “Free Trial” label on each game’s store page before you commit your Sunday evening. Achievements earned during the trials carry over if you buy the games, and publishers have paired the weekend with temporary discounts on several titles.

On Steam and everywhere else: the free-to-keep haul

Steam’s free-weekend shelf has two more entries alongside ARC Raiders: Core Keeper and Squad 44, both playable in full this weekend. And the free-to-keep pile — games you claim now and own forever — is genuinely stacked this week: Out of Sight and TerraScape on the Epic Games Store, Pony Island and Fireside Feelings on Steam, Eco Inc. Save The World (currently free, going paid) on Steam, The Big Con on iOS and Android, and three Prime Gaming claims for Amazon Prime members: Conarium, Escape Academy and WarBreeds.

Subscription folks are not left out either. Game Pass added three titles this week: Echo Weaver, Forever Ago and Neon Abyss 2. And October’s PlayStation Plus monthly games — which went live earlier this month — are still claimable: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers 2 (PS4/PS5), F1 25 (PS5) and Hunt: Showdown 1896 (PS5). If you have not claimed those yet, do it today; the month is already a third gone.

Looking ahead, next week’s games calendar is already filling up — but that is next week’s problem. This week’s problem is a good one: too many free games, not enough Sunday.

More from the newsroom: the free weekend, explained · October’s PS Plus games · next week in games