Embark Studios is shifting away from monthly ARC Raiders updates to bi-annual major updates. These content drops will be larger and refine core systems to give you more reasons to return to the Rust Belt.
In an ARC Raiders development update on May 13, Embark announced the change to content cadence. The developer stated that the pressure of a monthly cycle limits how impactful the updates can be. This is why moving forward, the plan is to release two major updates per year. These will be larger in scale and refine the core progression systems for a more engaging long-term experience.
“This additional development space also allows us to invest more deeply in the health of ARC Raiders, from progression and economy balancing to fair play and anti-cheat efforts. We know these are foundational to the experience, especially in a game where every encounter and extraction matters,” Embark added.
The next major ARC Raiders update is Frozen Trail, set to release in October. It promises to be the biggest update since launch, featuring the largest map to date, new ARC enemies, progression systems, skill tree improvements, items, and more.
Originally, the developer planned for a monthly cadence of meaningful updates with potentially even larger updates throughout the year. The game has had multiple content drops since then, including the Flashpoint update and the most recent, Riven Tides.
However, while those updates introduced new maps, conditions, items, and unique ARCs, the progression remained the same. Unless you want to commit to regular Expeditions, there’s not that much for you to explore and collect, especially if you’re an endgame player.
Next week, ARC Raiders is set to introduce a new trader designed for such endgame players. The trader unlocks at level 25, and he offers rewards, rare items, and cosmetics in exchange for high-value items. The trader also offers extra stash space and The Expedition Vault, which allows you to carry over five items across the Expedition.
It’s unclear what we can expect from now until the Frozen Trail update, apart from the new trader. Six months is a long time that may cause a lot of players to lose interest in the game. However, Embark clarified that there will be live updates, balance fixes, bug fixes, store updates, and player events.
