ARC Raiders is already a top seller on Steam, but its pricey microtransactions could be a warning sign

ARC Raiders is off to a strong start, hitting 264,673 peak players during the launch day and almost 90 percent positive reviews on Steam. It’s an immersive and accessible extraction shooter, but even this game has a couple of red flags.

According to SteamDB, ARC Raiders is already the No. 1 global top seller on Steam at the time of writing. The game’s Deluxe edition upgrade is also not too far behind at No. 14. While the game isn’t a full-premium title (priced at $40), what caught players’ attention is its cosmetic store and prices geared towards a free-to-play game.

One bundle in the ARC Raider’s shop costs 2,400 Raider Tokens, which is around $20. There are cheaper bundles, and you can purchase individual items from each bundle, but if you want a new character outfit, prepare to splash out on at least 1,150 Raider Tokens—although most of the good ones cost 1,400.

This makes one skin bundle worth almost half the game, and players clearly aren’t happy. “You’re really not getting that much for essentially spending half the games price… I really hate this direction and how most devs are embracing it these days. A skin shouldn’t be 50% or more of the games price,” a player wrote on Reddit.

Players also noted that prices in ARC Raiders are even steeper than in THE FINALS, a free-to-play PvP shooter made by the same studio. In THE FINALS, most outfit sets range from 1,600 to 2,200 Multibucks, where 2,400 Multibucks is also around $20. There are a few higher than that, but it’s a free game, and the sets consist of multiple customization items (like tops, pants, shoes, etc.) that you can mix and match.

ARC Raiders has a free Raider Deck, a permanent battle pass akin to Warbonds from Helldivers 2. You can earn up to 500 Raider Tokens among multiple cosmetic rewards by completing challenges. But that’s all the free currency available in the game at the time of writing, as you can’t earn it for free during raids.

Embark Studios promised more Decks (both free and paid) in the future, and hopefully, more free sources of Raider Tokens. Whether you decide to splash out on cosmetics in ARC Raiders or not, the prices are undoubtedly higher than they should be.