The Finals is free to play, but your first matches can feel like chaos: buildings collapse and there are three body types, dozens of gadgets and several modes. This guide covers the basics, where to practise, who to play first and how Playstyles work. It applies to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and reflects Season 12, which launched on 20 October 2026.
What The Finals is and how Cashout works
The Finals is a free-to-play first-person shooter from Embark Studios. It is set in a virtual TV game show: you are a Contestant fighting in arenas that you can largely shoot apart and tear down. From the same studio comes ARC Raiders.
The main mode is called Cashout, and its core loop is simple:
- Open a vault and grab the Cashbox inside.
- Carry the Cashbox to a Cashout Station and deposit it.
- Defend the station. The team holding it when the countdown ends gets the money.
Note that the former World Tour mode has been called Cashout since Season 9.
Tutorial, Practice Range and Academy
The tutorial starts automatically the first time you launch the game, and since Season 11 it features the legendary Contestant Dede. You can replay it at any time via Change Game Mode: right-click Cashout and pick Tutorial.
According to Embark support, the Practice Range sits under Practice in Change Game Mode. You can try every specialization, weapon and gadget there with no opponents around, plus challenges: Meet The Dummies and Shooting Gallery for aiming, Cashout Defense, Cashbox Time-Trial and Big Box Battle (Easy, Medium, Hard).
The Academy screen contains the Early Talent Program for new and returning players and tutorial videos for Ranked Cashout, Cashout, Quick Cash and Point Break.
Your first matches against bots
Embark recommends that new players start with Cashout (Bots). You face bots solo, with a party of up to three players or with random teammates. Bot matches use the full Cashout format, a three-round tournament. Progression runs at a reduced rate and the bots are still in beta.
Light, Medium and Heavy: the body types
There are three body types (archetypes): Light, Medium and Heavy. Each has its own specializations, weapons and gadgets. A specialization is the character’s unique ability, a gadget is a utility item such as a grenade or a mine.
Season 12 changed base health: Light now has 175 (up from 150) and Heavy 325 (down from 350). Light also moves slower and Heavy faster than before, so the health gap between them shrank from 200 to 150.
Playstyles: ready-made loadouts
As the support article explains, a Playstyle is a pre-built loadout for one body type: one specialization, one weapon and two gadgets. Once unlocked, you can still swap individual items.
New players start with three Playstyles unlocked. Early on you get a Playstyle Token for a fourth one of your choice, and over your first 20 rounds you earn tokens for all the rest. Since Season 12 the VRs currency is gone: items unlock together with their Playstyle via Playstyle Tokens or are unlocked automatically.
| Body type | Playstyle | Focus according to Embark |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Scout | tracking opponents and long-range combat |
| Light | Assassin | cloaking and close-range combat |
| Light | Duelist | hit-and-run tactics and disabling opponents |
| Light | Infiltrator (new in Season 12) | loadout with True Sight, Mimic Device, Translocator |
| Medium | Medic | healing and team mobility |
| Medium | Hacker | breaching defenses and fortifications |
| Medium | Engineer | defense and slowing enemy advances |
| Medium | Aerialist | movement and traversal |
| Heavy | Demolisher | destruction and distraction |
| Heavy | Guardian | protecting the team with shields and healing |
| Heavy | Enforcer | restricting enemy movement |
| Heavy | Strategist | fortification and shaping the environment |
The table is not a recommendation; try several loadouts in the Practice Range.
Game modes
Modes are split into Quickplay with unlimited respawns and Core with limited respawns. Quickplay is the gentler start because dying costs you less.
| Group | Mode | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Quickplay | Quick Cash | 3 teams of 3 |
| Quickplay | Point Break | 8 vs 8, attack and defend |
| Quickplay | Head-to-Head | 2 teams of 3 |
| Quickplay | Power Shift | 2 teams of 5 |
| Quickplay | Team Deathmatch | 2 teams of 5 |
| Core | Cashout | tournament of 8 teams of 3 |
| Core | Ranked Cashout | competitive version of Cashout |
There are also Practice, Private Match and limited-time events. Season 12 added Solo Showdown (beta): 12 players, every player for themselves, three rounds. After each round the four players with the least cash are eliminated, and whoever holds the most money at the end wins.
In Quick Cash and Cashout you will run into Double Jeopardy. With two Cashboxes in one station the payout is bigger, but if you fail, your team risks losing 50 % of its cash.
Play with friends: crossplay and bonus XP
PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S play together. Add friends via Embark ID (Social, Add Friend), because friendships on Steam, PSN or Xbox are not enough. Both of you need Settings, Gameplay, Network, Crossplay switched on. Parties also earn bonus XP: two players get +7.5 % XP, three or more get +10 % XP. Our article on platforms and crossplay covers it in detail.
Teamwork and leaving matches
The Finals is built around teamwork: play the objective, revive teammates and call out enemy positions. Embark says early losses are normal.
Do not leave matches. Leaving, including a crash, Alt+F4 or going AFK, gives you a matchmaking suspension that support will not lift. If the game crashes, use the Reconnect button to get back in. Controls can be adjusted in Settings: Accessibility (colour blind modes, subtitles), Mouse and Keyboard, Key Bindings and Controller, Controller Bindings.
Sponsors and where to go next
Season 12 turned Sponsors into a quest system. They unlock after you complete at least four matches, and your Sponsor then hands out Challenges, 3 to 5 contracts with rewards. You can choose between OSPUZE, ALFA ACTA and ISEUL-T.
Once Cashout clicks for you, check out ranked and leagues. Everything the current season brought is summed up in our Season 12 overview.
Join our Discord to find teammates for Cashout and ranked or to ask for help when you get stuck: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
Go to Change Game Mode, right-click Cashout and select Tutorial. The tutorial also starts on its own the first time you launch the game.
In the Practice Range (Change Game Mode, Practice). It has every specialization, weapon and gadget plus several challenges.
Three. You get a Playstyle Token for a fourth early on and tokens for all the others during your first 20 rounds.
Embark recommends it. Cashout (Bots) uses the full three-round tournament format, you can play it solo or with a party, and progression runs at a reduced rate.
You get a temporary matchmaking suspension, even after a crash or Alt+F4. Use the Reconnect button to rejoin a match that is still running.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are waiting in our The Finals guides section.