As the launch approached, the monetization approach changed.
Arc Raiders was released as a premium game for $40, but initially a different approach to its distribution was assumed. Embark Studios was going to make the game free-to-play.
Studio head Patrick Söderlund explained in a conversation with GamesBeat what influenced the decision to choose the model with the sale of the game:
[...] Basically, we looked at games like Helldivers 2 and other similar projects and decided, "Okay, this is where we should be." We made that decision, whether it was the right one or not is debatable. I like that the game is relatively affordable and that people can come in and try it.
The authors of Arc Raiders chose the price in such a way as not to scare away players and so that they could feel that the project justifies the stated cost:
We didn't have a "story campaign", so we decided that we didn't want the price to push anyone away. It's better to make people feel that the game is completely worth its $40. I hope that, considering how much time they spend in the game, people feel that we have given them a decent value for money. That's the feeling we're going for.
