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The new Arc Raiders 2.0 update has triggered a seven-month high for its concurrent player count on Steam as fans show up for its Spider-Man grappling hook, a new map, a free weekend, and more.
Embark’s once-viral extraction experience has had a rough few months. As the studio slowed down updates and vowed to rework its divisive Expedition prestige system, Arc Raiders players have largely left it behind, hoping to one day return to Speranza should more enticing updates arrive.
After reaching an all-time peak of nearly 500,000 players on Steam (via SteamDB), it’s consistently struggled to reach more than 35,000 players on PC since July. It was a fall from grace that’s left fans missing the honeymoon phase, but the Frozen Trail update, which launched two days ago, October 8, across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, has almost immediately brought back some of that hype.
In September, Arc Raiders reached a player count low of just 10,000 on Steam. As of the publication of this story, 166,670 people are logged onto Arc Raiders on the PC platform alone, and it looks like it could keep climbing. It’s a number Embark hasn’t hit since early April, and although it’s too soon to tell if these are the kind of results needed to give it a proper second wind, it does mark the first time the game has achieved a notable spike since December 2025.
It’s all thanks to Frozen Trail and the free weekend that helped usher it in. The update, which brought the first substantial changes Arc Raiders has received since Riven Tides in April, introduced a collection of game-changing content. Its crown jewel is Pendola Pass, a snowy mountainous region located beyond Raiders’ usual home in the Rust Belt. New buildings to loot and shoot through would surely be enough to bring fans back, but it’s really just the tip of the iceberg.
New Arc threats like the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra have shaken up combat encounters. The Tether Launcher, which can tie enemies to objects against their will, and the Grappling Hook have given players new tools to experiment with. That aforementioned free weekend, meanwhile, which runs from October 8 – 12, has allowed even newcomers to check out how Embark has changed Arc Raiders for the better. Individually, these are updates that would pique the interest of even the most casual fan, but the only reason so many are installing the game again is because of how these tweaks add new toys to the sandbox.
I was not a believer, one popular post on Reddit said. This is one of the best updates ever in a video game.
The same post continued, first praising Frozen Trail’s scale. They admitted to being a lapsed Arc Raiders fan, explaining that the mix of Embark’s new elements not only got them to return but also has them looking forward to what’s next.
I absolutely loved Arc Raiders for its first 6 months but I got frustrated with it since they announced the twice a year update, they said. I quit playing, said that these devs don’t know what they’re doing, they fumbled, etc. I know it probably won’t reach the popularity and number of players it had in December but that doesn’t matter to me, what matters to me is that I was flat out wrong about these devs and their ability to update the game. What they did here is special and I just wanted to come out and admit I was wrong and give them their flowers. I’m now extremely excited for the future of this game.
While not everyone is willing to go as far as to call it an all-time great video game update, it’s hard to find anyone being too critical of what Embark had to offer. Pendola Pass’ size seems to be an especially notable bright spot, with others mentioning the new UFO-style Arc ship known as the Frigate as another big highlight.
The FRIGATE in ARC Raiders is enormous! How are we supposed to fight this thing? 😭
📽️ u/cybrsloth92 https://t.co/w2HHvCDEkK
— ARC Raiders Alerts (@ArcRaiderAlerts) October 8, 2026
Just played an hour before work, and I couldn’t even explore more than 15% of the map, one player said. There were so many things to check out and explore, this time they really delivered a big map!
I agree, not to mention the new weapons, skills, weapons mods, it’s hard to believe they did all this in less than 6 months. Frigate is so damn cool, another said.
With such a drastic and sudden increase in attention, more highlight reels have started to find their way back to social media, too. New tools like the Grappling Hook come with obvious opportunities for shareable clips, as it allows Raiders to attach to everything from steep cliffs to flying Arc. Others can’t help but draw comparisons to how the toy allows players to swing through maps like Spider-Man.
I was going to get that, one fan said, referring to a new wall-running skill, but then I remembered grappling hooks exist now. It’s sooo much more fun to swing around like Spider-Man and then run around at 100mph with no stamina usage.
There’s also the new Advanced Camera. It works exactly how you’d expect, giving players the tech to capture memories, all with the click of a button. Considering Arc Raiders has thrived on the comedy presented by its in-game systems, a camera has really only given that chaos another chance to shine.
ARC RAIDERS LETS YOU SWING LIKE SPIDER-MAN WITH THE NEW GRAPPLE HOOK!
🎥MisterMediocre https://t.co/XM22wmv5RZ
— ARC Now (@ArcRaidersNow) October 9, 2026
Arc Raiders vive um novo pico de atenção graças ao update Frozen Trail, a maior atualização do jogo desde o lançamento, segundo a Embark. O patch chegou acompanhado de um fim de semana grátis, que rodou de 8 a 12 de outubro, e de um desconto de 50% em todas as plataformas. O jogo também está com testes agendados para um modo PvE dedicado, pedido antigo da comunidade.
A grande estrela do update é Pendola Pass, uma região montanhosa e nevada que fica além do Rust Belt, área que os Raiders costumam chamar de casa. O mapa é bem maior do que o normal: um jogador relatou que, após uma hora de partida, não conseguiu explorar nem 15% da área. Além do novo cenário, Frozen Trail adiciona inimigos como Bully, Skulker e Hydra, que mudam o ritmo dos combates, e uma nave Arc de estilo UFO chamada Frigate, que virou um dos pontos altos da atualização.
O update também mexe no arsenal e nas ferramentas dos jogadores. Entram as armas Bantam e Stiletto, a Grappling Hook (que permite se pendurar em paredes, penhascos e até em Arcs voadores), o Tether Launcher, a Yank Grenade, o Mountaineer’s Detector, câmeras básica e avançada, banjo e harmônica. A árvore de habilidades foi reformulada, com novos nós e escolhas binárias ou entre três opções ao fim de cada ramo. O sistema de quests ganhou 22 novas missões, e há um novo sistema de Reward Pass, stencils de armas, o Outpost com Research Bench, itens Design que liberam móveis craftáveis e o Collector DLC.
Nas redes, a recepção tem sido bastante positiva. Um post popular no Reddit dizia: Eu não era um crente. Esta é uma das melhores atualizações já feitas em um videogame. O mesmo usuário admitiu ter se afastado do jogo após o anúncio de updates duas vezes por ano e disse que estava errado sobre os desenvolvedores. Outros jogadores destacaram o tamanho de Pendola Pass e a Frigate, comparada a uma raid de Destiny. Clipes com a Grappling Hook e a câmera avançada também circularam bastante, com gente brincando que dá para se balançar como o Homem-Aranha pelo mapa.
Vale lembrar que a IGN deu nota 9/10 para Arc Raiders quando o jogo completou quase um ano de lançamento, elogiando o gunplay polido e o grind irresistível. A Embark também tem planos de adaptar Arc Raiders e The Finals, seu FPS inspirado em game shows, para TV e cinema em algum momento futuro.
Visão Gamer: Para quem joga, o update entrega ferramentas que mudam a mobilidade e o combate, como a Grappling Hook e o Tether Launcher, além de um mapa bem maior para explorar. O fim de semana grátis e o desconto de 50% em todas as plataformas são a porta de entrada para quem ainda não testou, enquanto os testes do modo PvE indicam que a Embark está olhando para um pedido recorrente da comunidade desde o lançamento.
Leia mais aqui em inglês: https://www.ign.com/articles/arc-raiders-20-update-and-spider-man-grappling-hook-drive-player-count-to-reach-7-month-high.
Fonte: IGN.
IGN Articles.
2026-10-10 21:07:00
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