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Frozen Trail, ARC Raiders’ largest update since launch, went live on October 8, 2026. Embark Studios has said it hoped the update would win back players, but no reliable source published so far measures a post-update surge to player numbers the game has not reached in months. Treat any claim of that kind as unconfirmed until a dated, attributable figure appears.
What Frozen Trail adds
Embark presented Frozen Trail as the biggest update in the game’s history so far. Its preview describes a new map that is the largest in the game, a major ARC operation with new enemies and behaviors, progression goals, an improved skill tree, and new weapons, items, instruments, and cosmetics.
A GamesRadar+ preview published October 2, 2026 gave more specific details. Those specifics are from that preview and should be checked against Embark’s official patch notes before you rely on them for gameplay decisions:
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- New enemies: Frigate, Bully, Skulker, and Hydra.
- New weapons: the Stiletto battle rifle and the Bantam revolver.
- Systems: traversal items, weapon modification, weapon transmog, and customizable bases.
- Content: quests and trials.
- Progression: a free battle pass and a premium battle pass.
Why major updates now arrive twice a year
Frozen Trail is the first major release under a new schedule. On May 13, 2026, Embark announced that major updates would move from a monthly cadence to twice a year. Routine live operations continue on their usual rhythm: balance changes, bug fixes, store updates, and player events.
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Embark’s stated reasoning was that a slower schedule allows more transformative releases and more time for progression, economy balance, fair play, and anti-cheat work. In the official announcement, executive producer Aleksander Grøndal wrote: “Over time, we’ve found that the pressure of a monthly cycle limits how impactful these updates can be.”
The trade-off was expected. In a GamesRadar+ interview published October 7, 2026, Grøndal said the studio knew that a longer gap between major updates would mean fewer players over a period of time. He said the hope was to reengage those players with bigger content such as Frozen Trail:
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“At the same time, when we did the change of the update cadence, we also accepted the fact that we would have less players over a period of time, with the hope that we could reengage those players with more interesting pieces of content like Frozen Trail.”
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The target Embark gave is major batches roughly every six months. That makes Frozen Trail a test of whether a large, infrequent release can do what smaller monthly updates did not.
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- Discover a galaxy of opportunity. Explore distinct locations with bustling cities and cantinas. Race across sprawling outdoor landscapes on your speeder. Each location brings new adventures, unique challenges, and enticing rewards if you’re willing to take the risk.
- Experience an original scoundrel story. Live the high-stakes lifestyle of an outlaw. Turn any situation to your advantage with Nix by your side: fight with your blaster, overcome enemies with stealth and gadgets, or find the right moments to distract enemies and gain the upper hand.
- Embark on high-stakes missions. Take on high-risk, high-reward missions from the galaxy’s crime syndicates. Steal valuable goods, infiltrate secret locations, and outwit enemies as one of the galaxy’s most wanted. Every choice you make influences your ever-changing reputation.
- Jump into the pilot seat. Pilot your ship, the Trailblazer, as you engage in thrilling dogfights with the Empire and other foes. Find the right opportunities to chase, evade, and attack to get the upper hand.
What the player numbers do and do not show
The question most readers ask is whether Frozen Trail brought players back. The available evidence does not answer that with a measured figure.
A community post that circulated in search results claimed ARC Raiders had passed 100,000 players on Steam after the October 8 patch. That post has not been verified by a source that can show its measurement method, time window, or platform scope, so it should not be repeated as a fact. The only verified concurrency figures available are older ones, shown below.
| Figure | What it measures | Date or window | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 960,000 concurrent players | Publisher-reported concurrent players; the cited source does not break this down by platform | January 2026, ten weeks after launch | Nexon announcement, January 13, 2026. Historical only, not an October update metric. |
| More than 12.4 million units sold | Cumulative units sold | As stated in Nexon’s January 2026 announcement | Publisher figure. Sales, not active players. |
| Post-update Steam peak concurrent users | Steam only, peak simultaneous sessions | Not stated for the October 8 update | No dated, attributable figure found. |
| 100,000+ players on Steam after the patch | Unclear; a community claim | Not stated | Unverified. Do not treat as a statistic. |
Several metrics are often confused, and they cannot be compared directly:
- Peak concurrent users is the highest number of people online at the same moment during a stated window.
- Daily active users counts distinct players in a day, and is usually higher than the concurrent peak.
- Unique players and units sold count different things. Sales do not show how many people are playing now.
- Steam-only figures leave out PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Epic Games Store, and GeForce NOW.
A fair before-and-after comparison needs the same metric, the same platform, and comparable time windows. Until a timestamped Steam concurrent chart for the period after October 8 is available, a claim that the update lifted all-platform player counts cannot be checked.
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- Experience an epic, historical action adventure in feudal Japan and become a deadly Shinobi assassin and a powerful legendary samurai as you explore a beautiful open game world in chaotic times
- Sneak as a Naoe to not be discovered, use your agility to confuse your opponents and stretch down your opponents with deadly precision and power as a Yasuke
- Use information as weapons and build your own spy network to have eyes and ears everywhere and find your targets easier and recruit new allies on the go with unique skills to help you with your missions
- Create a fully customizable hideaway for your growing Shinobi league, where you train recruits, craft new equipment and interact with important characters; set the room layout, decoration and accessories yourself
What the game is, for readers new to it
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction game. Players scavenge, craft, repair, and upgrade gear in an in-game workshop, and can play solo or in parties of up to three. The official site lists it on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and GeForce NOW.
Storefront promotions for the game change often, including free-play periods and weekend discounts. Check the store page directly before acting on any offer.
What to watch next
- Official patch notes for Frozen Trail, to confirm the content listed in the preview.
- A timestamped Steam concurrent chart covering the period before and after October 8, labelled as Steam concurrent users with the exact window.
- Any publisher statement that gives a post-update figure with a platform scope and date.
Until one of these appears, the reliable statement is narrower than the headline: the update shipped, Embark expected a dip under the longer schedule, and the studio hoped Frozen Trail would bring players back. Whether it did has not been measured in a source available for this article.
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