Embark Studios has confirmed when you’ll finally get a proper look at Frozen Trail, the next big update for ARC Raiders. The studio is hosting a dedicated first look event, and it arrives after a long stretch without a major content drop.
When the Frozen Trail first look happens
The stream is scheduled for September 23 at 10am PDT (7pm CEST) and will run on the official ARC Raiders YouTube channel. Embark didn’t attach any extra details to the announcement itself – it’s purely an early glimpse at the update. The short teaser trailer mostly shows the legs of what looks like a massive new ARC enemy.
What Embark has already confirmed for Frozen Trail
That teaser lines up with what the studio said earlier: Frozen Trail brings new ARC threats ranging from smaller bots all the way to one described as “enormous”, a machine that will “halt you in your tracks”.
- A new map – the largest added to ARC Raiders so far, with more verticality and terrain you’ll need to navigate far more carefully.
- A high-level challenge inside ARC operation – an activity built around balancing combat, teamwork, risk and survival, with plenty of rewards promised for anyone who clears it.
- A completely revamped progression system that’s meant to feel more rewarding.
- The Raiders Den becomes the Outpost, a larger and more customizable space.
- The Skill Tree overhaul fans have been asking about also lands in Frozen Trail.
On top of the new content, Embark says Frozen Trail will address some of the remaining pain points and improve areas players have found lacking. If you want to keep track of everything around the update, we collect it all in our ARC Raiders coverage.
Why the wait was this long
ARC Raiders was one of the surprise hits of 2025, launching with player numbers that pushed the notoriously hardcore extraction shooter genre into the mainstream. Despite how popular the big monthly updates were, Embark announced it was stepping away from that cycle: two major updates per year, supported in between by smaller live-service activities and patches. The change didn’t go down well with part of the community, even though the old release pace wasn’t sustainable for the studio. Frozen Trail, due in October, is set to be the biggest update yet.
Expeditions are on hold until 2027
Bigger changes to core mechanics may be coming too. In August, Embark confirmed that Expeditions – the game’s take on resetting characters – are paused until 2027. Unlike some extraction shooters that force a global reset, ARC Raiders lets you opt in to earn bonuses. The studio wants to use the break to make the system feel more rewarding and to fix problem areas such as the tight departure windows and the new player experience. We covered the previous shake-up of that system in our piece on update 1.45.0.
What it means for you
If you’ve been waiting for a reason to jump back in, September 23 is the date to mark – that’s when you’ll see what Frozen Trail actually looks like before it arrives in October. And if you haven’t picked the game up yet, it’s listed on its Steam store page.
FAQ
September 23 at 10am PDT, which is 7pm CEST, on the official ARC Raiders YouTube channel.
Embark is preparing to launch it in October. It’s set to be the biggest ARC Raiders update so far.
A new map – the largest yet, with more verticality – new ARC threats including one described as “enormous”, a high-level challenge inside ARC operation, a revamped progression system, the Raiders Den expanded into the Outpost, and the Skill Tree overhaul.
Embark confirmed in August that Expeditions are paused until 2027 while the studio reworks the mechanic, including the tight departure windows and elements aimed at new players.
Embark moved away from monthly content drops to two major updates per year, with smaller live-service activities and patches in between.