Subway And ARC Raiders Team Up For One Seriously Weird Crossover

Gamers who have been around the block a few times likely recall rampant, absurd crossovers between gaming franchises and food brands, like this Pepsi-sponsored Xbox or the infamous EverQuest 2 /pizza command. If you're one of those fans, news of this Subway-Arc Raiders crossover could be a little nostalgic. It's been a long while since we've seen Subway dabble in games like this; while the fast food sandwich joint has partnered with EA Sports franchises occasionally, the last 'core' gaming partnership was with Sony way back in 2011.

But what does the "Never Raid Hungry" campaign actually entail? Basically, it just grants you in-game rewards for buying Subway meals, though opt-in is required and the promotion doesn't apply to kid's meals. Seeing as Arc Raiders is technically a T-rated game, we guess that tracks. The main draw of the campaign is the ability to unlock the exclusive "Subterranean" outfit, pictured above on the right. In addition to the main skin, there are also three Subway-themed variants of other skins, pictured below.

As for other rewards, each code earned with a meal will earn two bonus in-game items that rotate every week. At time of writing, possible in-game item rewards typically pair a gun with a utility or shield item. Right now, that's the choice between a Renegade II with 2 Medium Shields, a Canto II with Tactical Mk. 2, or an Osprey II with two Surge Shield Rechargers.

It's nothing game-breaking by any means, but does add a small extra incentive to keep hitting up Subway before your next raid. The promotion runs from August 20th all the way through October 26th. That means this partnership will also be active during the next Arc Raiders major update, Frozen Trail, which is set to add a massive new map alongside a new operation.


Since I last covered Arc Raiders in late April, a lot has changed. Sadly for fans of the game, the monthly player averages have dropped from 103K all the way down to a modest-but-healthy 31K. But this doesn't tell the whole story: per SteamDB, the game is still #58 in Steam's daily active users and #172 in its Top Sellers. With another major update on the horizon and a large-scale collaboration with Subway currently live, it's hard to say Arc Raiders is in a bad place. As long as that core audience stays engaged with new content, the game will likely stay relevant for years to come.

I will say that this actually isn't the most ambitious promotion of its kind, though. Remember that Sony promotion I mentioned? The game was Uncharted 3, and the reward actually gave you a month of free early access to that game's multiplayer before the game even came out. Definitely more involved than what we're seeing here, albeit much more disruptive to game balancing.