What's new in ARC Raiders at a glance
Embark called Frozen Trail "our biggest update since launch". It is the first major update on the new schedule: instead of new content every month, there are now two major updates a year. That is why the game may look different from what you remember after a break. The LevelCapGaming video about this update is literally titled "ARC Raiders Is A Different Game Now".
If you are just starting out or haven't played in a very long time, begin with our beginner's guide.
The biggest Frozen Trail (2.0) changes
| What | What changed |
|---|---|
| Pendola Pass (new map) | an old Italian village and transport hub in the mountains, lots of vertical terrain, Flash Freeze weather, a downed ARC Emperor on the map |
| Frigate and Redirection (map conditions) | Frigate: boarding a huge ARC ship, "very high-risk, high-reward"; Redirection is exclusive to Pendola Pass according to media reports |
| New enemies | Bully, Skulker and Hydra (a three-part turret on the Frigate) |
| New weapons | Stiletto (a battle rifle using light ammo) and Bantam (a revolver using heavy ammo); the Anvil moved up from green to blue rarity |
| Amplified Weapons | a fifth weapon quality tier with its own upgrade tree, unlocked on a fully upgraded Research Workstation; 15 weapons at launch |
| The Outpost | your own base built out with modules and unlocked through a project; gives access to the Research Bench (called the Research Workstation in the story text) and 100 furniture designs |
| Skill Tree | in the middle of each branch you pick 1 of 2 skills, and at the end of each branch there are 2 nodes where you choose up to 2 of 3 |
| Reward Pass and the end of Cred | Cred removed and replaced by Reward Points; the Frozen Trail Pass has 60 levels (Free, and Premium for 1,150 Raider Tokens), and the old Raider Decks live in the free Legacy Pass |
| Grappling Hook and other gadgets | a hook for climbing and swinging over gaps, the Tether Launcher, the Yank Grenade; the Snap Hook was nerfed (range down from 20 to 18 m) |
| Camera (photo gadget) | Basic and Advanced Camera: zoom, focus, selfie mode; photos go to the Codex, and some old quests now require photos |
| Quests and Stash | a total of 22 new quests; Stash up to 328 slots (without Expedition bonuses) |
| Matchmaking | the "Solo vs. Squads" option was removed |
| Celeste | a new look with full facial motion capture of actress Diana Gardner |
The "new camera" players talk about is the photo gadget, not a change to the in-game view. The "I like this new camera" thread on r/ArcRaiders has 13,841 upvotes. You buy the camera from Shani for Coin, and the first step of the Outpost project requires a photo of a farmhouse.
We cover the new map and conditions in our maps and map conditions guide, the new tree in our skill tree guide, and the Stiletto and Bantam in our weapon tier list.
Patches after 2.0: Hotfix 2.0.2, Update 2.1.0 and Hotfix 2.1.1
| Version | Date | What it changed |
|---|---|---|
| Hotfix 2.0.2 | October 9, 2026 | the first fix, one day after Frozen Trail launched |
| Store Update 2.1.0 | October 13, 2026 | start of the PvE test, the Carrion Set; easier ledge climbing with the Grappling Hook; a Grappling Hook or Tether Launcher at zero durability is "broken" rather than destroyed; Frigate hatches deal fire damage when opened; darker nights on Pendola Pass |
| Hotfix 2.1.1 | October 16, 2026 | fixes for locked rooms and item duplication |
Update 2.1.0 also adjusted skills: stamina-restoring items no longer work during the Sprinting on Fumes cooldown, and Broad Shoulders, Field Repair and Field Salvaging received fixes.
Shop and trader changes
- Anvil and Hullcracker: Tian Wen no longer sells them. They are only in the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation.
- Ammo: Launcher Ammo and Energy Clips now have a daily purchase limit.
- Ermal is gone: his place among the Nomadic Envoys was taken by Cassio, who trades for valuable items and asks for help with quests.
- Other traders: Celeste sells furniture materials, Shani sells cameras and Light Sticks for Coin, and Apollo has Epic Augments.
Embark has not said how high the daily ammo limit is. The number "15" comes from players: the thread "Hullcracker is no longer purchasable and the ammo that you can buy is limited to 15" has 3,039 upvotes on r/ArcRaiders, and many players in the comments count it as 15 purchases of 6 rounds each, or 90 rounds a day. This is not an official number.
The Hullcracker also changed in combat: it deals 50% more damage to ARC armor plates and about 30% less to weaker parts.
Every major update since launch
| Name | Date | What it added |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | October 30, 2025 | release on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S |
| North Line (1.2.0) | November 13, 2025 | the Stella Montis map, the Matriarch and Shredder ARC, new quests |
| Cold Snap (1.7.0) | December 16, 2025 | the wintry Cold Snap condition, the first Expedition window, a skill tree reset |
| Headwinds (1.13.0) | January 27, 2026 | Solo vs Squads, the Trophy Display project, the Bird City condition |
| Shrouded Sky (1.17.0) | February 24, 2026 | the Hurricane condition, the Firefly and Comet ARC, a Dam Battlegrounds rework |
| Flashpoint (1.22.0) | March 31, 2026 | the Close Scrutiny ARC Operation, the Vaporizer ARC, the Dolabra and Canto weapons |
| Riven Tides (1.26.0) | April 28, 2026 | the Riven Tides map, the Turbine ARC, the Beachcombing condition |
| Frozen Trail (2.0) | October 8, 2026 | Pendola Pass, the Outpost, the new skill tree, the Reward Pass, Amplified Weapons |
Up to Riven Tides, major updates arrived roughly once a month. On May 13, 2026, Embark changed the pace: two major updates a year, with smaller live updates in between for fixes, balance, the shop and events. Three of those smaller ones are worth knowing:
- 1.29.0 (May 19, 2026): the trader Ermal, the Rascal weapon, Denuvo Anti-Cheat.
- 1.36.0 (July 7, 2026): separate matchmaking for Solo, Duo and Trio.
- 1.45.0 (September 8, 2026): the start of the 5th Expedition, the move to Unreal Engine 5.7, the announcement that Cred would expire.
Expeditions: on hold until 2027
An Expedition is an optional reset of your character progress (players call it a "wipe") in exchange for rewards and permanent bonuses. Things that do not reset include cosmetics, Raider Tokens, the Codex, the Trophy Display and discovered map regions.
The fifth Expedition ran from September 8, 2026 (13:00 CEST) to September 29, 2026 (10:00 CEST). Embark said it is the last one until "early 2027". At that point Expeditions are supposed to return with big changes to the windows, the rewards and how accessible they are to new players.
What this means for you:
- bonuses from previous Expeditions stay,
- unfinished Caravans were converted into Ermal Vouchers of the same value,
- the Expedition screen is reachable through the Nomadic Envoys, but the 2.0 known issues list calls it "not functional".
Embark promised details on the new Expeditions in September, but as of October 19, 2026 we have not found such a post. GameRiv quotes Aleks Grøndal at Gamescom: "Maybe we'll scrap the whole system altogether." GameRiv does not say where the interview comes from, and Embark has announced nothing of the kind. Treat it as a possibility, not a decision.
What's next for ARC Raiders
- October 20, 2026, 11:00 CEST: the PvE test ends. The toggle will be removed, matchmaking returns to normal and players will get a survey. Embark writes: "This test is not a promise that there will be a PvE mode in the future". Details in our PvE mode guide.
- October 30, 2026: the game's first anniversary.
- Until November 4, 2026: Twitch Drops (Oxygen Respirator and Mailbox).
- Announced without dates: more skill tree changes, more Amplified Weapons, Outpost expansion, Dynamic Loot Zone on other maps and more characters with motion capture.
Embark has not named the next major update or given a date for it. All we know is that such updates are planned twice a year. More than five months passed between Riven Tides and Frozen Trail. There is no official roadmap for November and December 2026.
Steam reviews over time
Share of positive reviews in each month (our calculation from the Steam review histogram):
| Month | Positive |
|---|---|
| October 2025 | 89.4% |
| December 2025 | 81.8% |
| March 2026 | 76.7% |
| April 2026 | 63.0% |
| June 2026 | 51.5% |
| August 2026 | 48.4% |
| September 2026 | 51.9% |
| October 2026 (up to October 18) | 74.8% |
In summer 2026, recent reviews dropped to around 50%. After Frozen Trail they climbed back to 72–77%: in the week from October 8, 2026, reviews were 75.5% positive out of about 3,434, while in September players wrote about 525–600 reviews a week. On October 18, 2026 at 22:00 UTC, 135,556 people were playing ARC Raiders on Steam. The rise in players after the update's launch coincided with free play (October 8–12, 2026) and a 50% discount.
FAQ
What is the current version of ARC Raiders?
As of October 19, 2026, it is version 2.1.1 (the hotfix from October 16, 2026). The last major update is Frozen Trail (2.0) from October 8, 2026.
What happened to Cred?
Cred expired with the October 8, 2026 update. It was replaced by Reward Points, which go to your active pass. You will find the old Raider Decks in the free Legacy Pass, and rewards you already earned stay.
Where can I buy the Hullcracker and the Anvil?
Not from Tian Wen anymore. Both are only in the weekly Nomadic Envoys rotation.
Is ARC Raiders a different game now?
A lot has changed: a new map, the Outpost, the skill tree, the pass and the shop economy. LevelCapGaming calls the new tree "much better", but not radically new. Recent reviews from the last 30 days are back at 72% positive.
When is the next Expedition?
According to Embark, in early 2027, with changed rules. There is no exact date.
