ARC Raiders Free Weekend: October 2026

The official window begins October 8 at 09:00 UTC and closes October 12 at 08:00 UTC. For US Eastern Time, that's roughly 5:00 AM EDT Thursday through 4:00 AM EDT Monday.

Don't treat October 12 as a full extra day.

That 08:00 UTC cutoff is early.

The free-play announcement specifically names Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation.

Open Steam, PlayStation Store, or the Xbox store and locate the normal ARC Raiders game page once the event begins.

You aren't looking for a separate trial code.

You aren't looking for a giveaway key either.

The promotion grants access to the full game during the free-play period, rather than a stripped-down demo.

ARC Raiders is still an extraction game.

Topside isn't a normal deathmatch where getting three kills magically makes the run good. The real objective is leaving alive with the stuff you actually wanted.

Other Raiders can be hostile, ARC machines are roaming the environment, and getting greedy around an extraction route is an extremely efficient way to donate your backpack to somebody else. The game's core loop deliberately mixes PvE threats with the risk posed by other players.

Get loot.

Know when you're done.

Leave.