Embark Studios has offered a detailed look at Frozen Trail, the substantial 2.0 update heading to ARC Raiders on 8 October 2026. Arriving as a free title update across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, the expansion brings a frost-bitten new region, a severe overhaul to character progression, and the arrival of imposing new ARC threats above and below the tree line.
Alongside the news, Embark released a Developer Overview video breaking down how the new environment and mechanics fundamentally shift the rhythm of extraction runs beyond the familiar Rust Belt. Frozen Trail is looking pretty exciting!
Pendola Pass and the Flash Freeze Threat
The centrepiece of the Frozen Trail update is Pendola Pass, a treacherous, high-altitude mountain region framed around the rusted remains of a colossal fallen Emperor ARC. Embark frames Pendola Pass as their most complex environment yet, defined by steep verticality, tight choke-points, and volatile weather.
Primary among these environmental hazards is the Flash Freeze condition. When a Flash Freeze hits, ambient temperatures drop instantly, inflicting severe frost damage on any Raiders caught without cover. Squads are forced to make rapid tactical decisions: ducking into interior structures, burning through limited consumables, or attempting a desperate sprint through the snow to reach warmth before their health bars deplete.
Pendola Pass also introduces the Redirection event. This mechanic enables players to trigger Harvester payload drops directly from the Collector, immediately transforming local sectors into tense, multi-squad battles over high-tier loot.
Airborne Terrors and Ground Warfare
The ARC roster expands with four distinct mechanical threats designed to challenge established combat tactics in Frozen Trail. Dominating the skyline is the Frigate, a massive airborne carrier that functions akin to an endgame floating fortress. The Frigate cannot be destroyed through conventional gunfire. Instead, squads must board the craft mid-flight, sabotage its internal systems, and escape before the vessel collapses.
On the ground, players will face the Bully, a quadrupedal Leaper variant built for fast, aggressive hit-and-run strikes that break team formations. Operating at the opposite range is the Skulker, a low-profile scout bot that keeps its distance while pecking away at squad armour with persistent long-range fire. Rounding out the additions is the Hydra, a stationary automated defence unit capable of targeting three separate Raiders simultaneously, making tight corridor navigation exceptionally dangerous.
Personal Outposts and Weapon Amplification
Base operations are moving beyond the underground confines of Speranza with the introduction of Personal Outposts. Located on the surface, these customisable hideouts allow Raiders to craft, build, and arrange physical living quarters. Furniture, decorative items, and trinkets recovered during extraction runs or crafted via salvaged blueprints can be used to personalise the space.
More than just cosmetic hubs, Outposts house the new Research Station. This facility unlocks Weapon Amplification, allowing players to heavily modify their arsenal. At the launch of Frozen Trail, 15 weapons support deep functional alterations, including rapid-fire trigger conversions and incendiary rounds, altering standard weapon behaviours to suit specific play-styles. Customisation also extends to visual flair through Weapon Stencils, offering detailed pattern applications across all primary firearms.
It’s a nice approach to providing further personalisation to a game where, when you play solo, you can feel very isolated and truly like it’s just you in the world. Frozen Trail looks to be upping the ante in all areas!
Vertical Mobility and Arsenal Expansion
Navigating Pendola Pass’s steep cliff faces and fractured terrain requires better mobility, which Embark is delivering through a series of new tactical gadgets.
Chief among these is the Grappling Hook, a dynamic rope system that enables fluid climbing, ledge swinging, and even latching onto moving ARC units to traverse open ground quickly.
For tactical crowd control, players gain access to the Tether Launcher and Yank Grenade. These tools allow squads to pull targets into environmental hazards, drag enemy Raiders out of cover, or tether aggressive ARC units to slow their advance.
The standard weapon roster expands with the Stiletto, a light-ammo battle rifle tuned for mid-range precision, and the Bantam, a high-tempo, fast-drawing revolver ideal for close-quarters sidearm swaps. For those looking to add flavour to their downtime between firefights, Raiders can now equip non-lethal equipment including a handheld Camera, a Banjo, and a Harmonica.
A Banjo and Harmonica may seem redundant to some, but to us this will go nicely with the guitar, shaker and recorder. We can finally get a whole band going! Frozen Trail really wants to keep us all engaged in Arc Raiders.
Skill Tree Overhaul and the Reward Pass System
Core character progression receives a complete pass in Frozen Trail, replacing the existing Skill Tree with a streamlined system designed to encourage distinct class specialisation rather than incremental stat bumps. Players can tailor their builds toward raw mobility, heavy fire support, or field utility with greater clarity.
Monetisation and season tracking are also transitioning from the old Raider Decks to the new Reward Pass structure:
The Free Pass grants rewards through standard XP progression, offering 200 Raider Tokens, 5 full outfits, and 20 cosmetic items spanning furniture, charms, and emotes.
The Premium Pass introduces additional cosmetic depth, granting exclusive outfit toggles, unique colourways, weapon stencils, new hairstyles, and a total of 1,150 Raider Tokens.
For returning players, the Legacy Pass ensures no previous effort is lost, automatically preserving all progress made on older Raider Decks so players can finish previous progression tracks at their own pace.
Frozen Trail
ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail launches 8 October 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S and it really feels like Embark are coming out swinging on this one.
After taking a step back and slowing-down on the updates for Arc Raiders, they’ve been able to focus on quality over quantity, or so it seems. Of course, we won’t know until October, but Embark haven’t let us down yet with Arc Raiders, so there’s no reason to believe Frozen Trail will do anything to deviate from that track record.
We’re really excited to get stuck-in with some of the personalisation and class-spec building. On paper, it all feels like steps for growth and positive change. Let’s see how well implemented everything is.
Catch you top-side, raiders.
