Arc Raiders' Next Major Update, Frozen Trail, Detailed Ahead of October Release

Embark Studios has fully revealed the next major update for its popular extraction shooter, Arc Raiders. The game's Frozen Trail update will add a new map, new Arc threats, a customisable outpost, new weapons and gadgets, and a paid Battle Pass system, among other new content.

Arc Raiders received critical acclaim at launch in October last year and quickly reached a massive player count across platforms. By January, the game had reached nearly a million concurrent players and sold over 12 million copies.

However, the slow pace of major updates and a lack of new content have slowed the march of the PvPvE extraction shooter. On PC, Arc Raiders' concurrent player count has been declining, falling to under 30,000 this week when at one point over 480,000 users were playing the game on Steam alone.

Frozen Trail Update Details

The major update, titled Frozen Trail, arrives on October 8 in hopes of reviving the game's player count. The free update, detailed in a new post on the Arc Raiders website, will add a new map to Arc Raiders—the first since the game's Riven Tides update in April. The upcoming map, titled Pendola Pass, is an icy region that comes with a fallen emperor Arc, called Frigate, that players can enter and explore.

Insider the Frigate, Raiders can find precious resources for crafting. Embark said the Frigate will pose a “substantial challenge” to even highly skilled players. The structure is full of Arc enemies and locked paths.

Arc Raider's Frozen Trail update will also bring three new Arc enemies: Bully, Skulker, and Hydra. The Bully is an aggressive and agile spidery robot, while the Skulker stalks Raiders and looks for an opening to attack. The Hydra is a stationary turret.

Arc Raiders is also getting a customisable outpost as part of the update. According to the developer, the outpost will serve as a home for Raiders outside of Speranza. Users can customise their outpost with furniture and different modules, set up a research workstation, and more. Embark said it hoped to develop the feature further, making it more customisable for players.

Additionally, Frozen Trail is adding a fifth tier of weapon upgrades that will unlock a branching path of abilities and enhancements for weapons in the game. Players will be able to modify their weapons in a variety of ways. The update also includes two new weapons and two new gadgets, including a grappling hook that unlocks a new mode of traversal.

Most notably, Arc Raiders is also getting a Battle Pass system, titled Rewards Pass, that will evolve the existing Raider Deck rewards and progression system in the game. The Rewards Pass will have a free and premium tier, that will unlock new gameplay items, outfits, and more.

Players can also purchase a Collectors Set DLC, which includes both free and premium Reward Passes, along with a new cosmetic set, in-game currency, and more.

Finally, the Frozen Trail update will bring new quests, a reworked Skill Tree, a new map condition, and other improvements. The update will be released on October 8 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series S/X.