ARC Raiders Frozen Trail Launches October 8 With a Free Weekend

Tomorrow is a big day for anyone who has been pulling extraction runs in ARC Raiders since launch. Embark Studios says the Frozen Trail update arrives on October 8, and it calls it the biggest update since the game came out. We have gone through the official preview posts, and the picture is clearer than the usual patch hype: this is a content drop with a new place to go, new things to fear, and a rethink of how progression is handed out.

It also lands right after Embark ended its monthly update cycle. Earlier this year the studio said it would move to two large updates a year instead, so Frozen Trail has to carry a lot of weight. If you stepped away from the game over the summer, this is the natural moment to come back.

What is actually in Frozen Trail

The headline is a new map called Pendola Pass, an old Italian village and Exodus transport hub tucked beyond the Rust Belt. It has a supermarket, a town square, an observatory and a buried train depot, and Embark says it is the largest map in the game. The reason to go there is a fallen Emperor, a huge machine that has dropped and left rare technology behind. Brutal flash freezes cut through the valley, so the weather itself is part of the threat.

ARC forces respond with a large patrol vessel that players are calling the Frigate. You have to find a way aboard, work through its corridors and unlock paths while fighting both old and new machines. Three new enemies are announced: the Bully, an aggressive charger that rewards cover and timing, the Skulker, an ambusher that strikes and retreats, and the Hydra, a triple turret on the Frigate that Embark says can handle whole squads.

Your own kit grows too. There are two new guns, the Stiletto battle rifle for light ammo and the Bantam heavy revolver that can be fired from the hip. Traversal gets a grappling hook for climbing, abseiling and swinging, plus a tether launcher and a yank grenade that pin down or pull enemies. There is even a working camera gadget, which is a very odd and very welcome thing in a game about survival. On top of that come a fifth weapon quality tier called Amplified, available on 15 guns at launch through an upgraded Research Workstation, a customizable Outpost for your home base, new questlines, a skill tree rework and a new map condition mechanic.

Video: ARC Raiders on YouTube

Reward Passes, and what they cost

Raider Decks are being replaced by Reward Passes, where you complete Feats across 60 levels to unlock items. The Free Pass includes outfits, cosmetics, weapons, gadgets and up to 200 Raider Tokens. The Premium Pass adds exclusive colorways, legendary weapon stencils, hairstyles and up to 1,150 Raider Tokens, and since it costs 1,150 tokens, finishing it refunds the purchase. Embark also states the Premium Pass has no gameplay items, so the paid track does not buy power. A Legacy Pass keeps your old deck cosmetics for free, and a Collector Set DLC bundles both passes with 2,400 tokens and a few extras. The official post does not give a real money price or a pass duration, so check the store before you buy.

The free weekend runs from October 8 to October 12. Embark has also been testing a PvE toggle, but we would treat that as a separate story until the studio confirms how it ships.

Our take

We like that the paid pass is cosmetic and self refunding, because that is the part of live service games that most often sours a community. The risk is elsewhere: a huge map plus a harder machine roster can punish new squads hard in week one, and a free weekend will pull in plenty of them. If you are a returning player, expect a rough first day of server strain and balance changes. If you are new, learn the basics on the older maps first. Extraction fans curious about similar loops can also read our look at how DMZ works in Modern Warfare 4.