ARC X1 community batch sells out in 24 hours, full drop sold out in 48

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MUMBAI: ARC’s first gaming handheld appears to have struck a chord with India’s gaming community, with the first ARC X1 Community Batch selling out within 24 hours and the extended allocation selling out within the original 48-hour drop window.

The ARC X1 Community Drop went live on 2 October at 3 pm, allowing early members of the community to reserve the handheld with a Rs 999 pre-booking amount. The first batch was exhausted within a day, prompting ARC to add another community batch.

The additional allocation was also sold out before the 48-hour Community Drop ended, giving ARC an early demand signal ahead of the device’s wider retail availability.

The ARC X1 was offered to community members at a special price of Rs 29,500, compared with its planned retail price of Rs 33,500. The drop was aimed at early supporters who had followed the product through its development and wanted first access to the handheld.

ARC co-founder Kaustubh K. Jadhav said the response was significant for the company and reflected its belief that Indian gamers are ready for dedicated gaming hardware built around their needs.

The ARC X1 is the company’s first dedicated gaming handheld and runs on a Qualcomm-powered platform with ARC’s own OWL OS. The device is designed to bring Steam and legacy PC games, cloud gaming and Android gaming into a controller-first experience.

The company sees the Community Drop response as an early indication of demand for locally focused gaming hardware in India. While the country has one of the world’s largest gaming populations, dedicated gaming hardware remains a relatively developing segment.

ARC said its next phase will focus on delivering the ARC X1 to its early customers while continuing to develop OWL OS and the broader ecosystem around the handheld.

The company is positioning ARC X1 as the first step in its wider ambition to build a gaming stack for emerging markets, starting with India, bringing hardware, software and game access together in a purpose-built experience.