ARC Raiders Update and Patch Notes: What's Live Now (Frozen Trail)
The current ARC Raiders version, the Frozen Trail 2.0 update and the patches after it, the twice-a-year cadence, and what Embark Studios has not dated.
Applies to: The live ARC Raiders version and recent patch timeline as published by Embark Studios and Steam, checked on October 15, 2026
Quick answer
The live version is the Frozen Trail 2.0 update, released October 8, 2026, which Embark Studios describes as the game's first major update under a twice-a-year cadence. It added a new map and a new ARC threat, a new ARC Operation, and the Outpost. Since then Embark has shipped Hotfix 2.0.2 (October 9), the Trials Season 6 "Frozen Trials" (October 12) and Store Update 2.1.0 (October 13), and is running a limited PvE matchmaking toggle test from October 13 to 20, 2026. The next major update has a stated cadence but no published date.
At a glance
ARC Raiders is currently running the Frozen Trail 2.0 update, which Embark Studios released on October 8, 2026 and describes as the game's first major update under a twice-a-year cadence. Several smaller updates have followed it, and a limited PvE matchmaking test is running across the same week. The headline figure to hold on to is simply the version: Frozen Trail 2.0, and the patches listed below it.
| Item | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Live major version | Frozen Trail 2.0 | Embark Studios patch post, October 8, 2026 |
| Released | October 8, 2026 | Embark Studios / Steam news |
| Update cadence | Two major updates a year | Embark Studios |
| Next major update | Not dated | No published date found |
What is live now
The last major content drop is Frozen Trail 2.0. On top of it, Embark Studios has shipped a hotfix and a set of store and seasonal updates, and it is running a one-week PvE matchmaking test. If you are looking for the single answer to "what version is ARC Raiders on", it is Frozen Trail 2.0 plus the patches in the table further down.
Frozen Trail 2.0
Embark Studios announced Frozen Trail ahead of release and framed it as the first of a slower, larger update rhythm. The features it has named for the update are a new map and a new ARC threat on it, a new ARC Operation, and the Outpost — a second base that unlocks research and weapon modification. It also arrived with a short promotional free-to-play window, which is one reason "is ARC Raiders free" keeps surfacing around this update even though the game is a paid title.
Patch timeline
The entries below are the recent posts from Embark Studios' news feed on Steam and the game's website. Titles are given as published; the list is a snapshot from October 15, 2026 and will grow.
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| October 13, 2026 | PvE Toggle Beta Test (runs October 13–20) and Store Update 2.1.0 |
| October 12, 2026 | Trials Season 6: Frozen Trials |
| October 9, 2026 | Hotfix 2.0.2 |
| October 8, 2026 | Frozen Trail — 2.0 Update |
The PvE toggle is a limited test, not a permanent mode, and it carries specific rules — no player-to-player damage, lower loot value on PvE servers, and some map conditions excluded. It is covered in its own page once that page is published.
How often ARC Raiders updates
Embark Studios has moved ARC Raiders to a rhythm of two major content updates a year, with smaller patches, hotfixes, seasonal Trials and store updates in between. That is why the gap between the launch on October 30, 2025 and the next large drop is longer than a live-service game's monthly cadence would suggest, and why a quiet stretch is not the same as the game being abandoned.
What Embark has not dated
- The next major update. A cadence is stated; a date is not.
- A public roadmap with fixed dates. Anything beyond the announced rhythm is not published on the game's site at the time of this check.
- The outcome of the PvE toggle test. Whether a permanent PvE mode follows the October test is unconfirmed.
This page reports the version and the patch list rather than predicting what comes next, because the next dated item does not exist yet.
Sources and review scope
- Embark Studios — ARC Raiders news feed — source for the Frozen Trail 2.0 release, the Trials Season 6 and Store Update posts, and the PvE Toggle Beta announcement, checked on October 15, 2026.
- Steam — ARC Raiders news — the publisher's own Steam posts, used to confirm the update titles and dates in the timeline.
- Steam store listing — confirms the game's release date of October 30, 2025, the developer and publisher (Embark Studios), and the supported platforms.
- Embark Studios — "PvE Toggle Beta Test: October 13-20" — the test window and its rules, quoted rather than paraphrased.
- Wikipedia — ARC Raiders — used only as a pointer to the twice-a-year update rhythm attributed to Embark Studios; the rhythm is treated as a developer statement, not a Wikipedia fact.
Checked on October 15, 2026. Update titles and dates are quoted from Embark Studios' own posts. The next major update has no published date, and this page does not invent one. Live details such as the exact content of the current hotfix should be rechecked against the official patch notes before you rely on them.
Checked on October 15, 2026 against the Steam store listing and the Steam Web API app-details, current-players, review-summary and news endpoints for ARC Raiders, and Embark Studios' own posts on arcraiders.com. Live figures such as the concurrent-player count and the review total are timestamped snapshots that keep moving and are labelled as such. Game-internal details that Embark Studios has not published come from the community-run ARC Raiders Wiki and are labelled third-party, not official. Player-tested values are marked as such. Anything neither source states is written as unconfirmed rather than guessed.
Not independently play-tested. This is not a claim that every platform or game version was tested. Source review: Oct 15, 2026.
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