Arc Raiders 2.0 Update and 'Spider-Man' Grappling Hook Propel Player Count to 7-Month Peak

The Arc Raiders 2.0 update has catapulted the game's concurrent player count on Steam to a seven-month high, as fans flock to experience the new 'Spider-Man' grappling hook, a fresh map, a free weekend, and more.

Embark's once-viral extraction shooter has faced a tough few months. With the studio slowing down updates and promising to rework its divisive Expedition prestige system, many Arc Raiders players drifted away, hoping to one day return to Speranza should more enticing updates arrive.

After hitting an all-time peak of nearly 500,000 players on Steam (according to SteamDB), the game has struggled to surpass 35,000 concurrent players on PC since July. It was a fall from grace that left fans nostalgic for the honeymoon phase. But the Frozen Trail update, which launched two days ago on October 8 across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, has almost instantly revived some of that excitement.

In September, Arc Raiders hit a low of just 10,000 players on Steam. As of this writing, 166,670 people are logged into Arc Raiders on PC alone, and that number appears to be climbing. It's the highest count Embark has seen since early April, and while it's too early to tell if this will give the game a true second wind, it marks the first significant spike since December 2025.

It's all thanks to Frozen Trail and the free weekend that accompanied it. The update, which brought the first substantial changes since Riven Tides in April, introduced a slew of game-changing content. Its crown jewel is Pendola Pass, a snowy mountainous region beyond the Raiders' usual home in the Rust Belt. New buildings to loot and shoot through would surely be enough to bring fans back, but that's 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. Meanwhile, the free weekend, running from October 8–12, has allowed even newcomers to see how Embark has improved Arc Raiders. Individually, these updates would pique the interest of even the most casual fan, but the reason so many are reinstalling is how these tweaks add new toys to the sandbox.

"I was not a believer," one popular Reddit post read. "This is one of the best updates ever in a video game."

The same post continued, first praising Frozen Trail's scale. The author admitted to being a lapsed Arc Raiders fan, explaining that the mix of new elements not only brought them back but also has them excited for 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 ready to call it an all-time great update, it's hard to find anyone being too critical of what Embark delivered. Pendola Pass' size seems to be a particularly bright spot, with others mentioning the new UFO-style Arc ship known as the Frigate as another major highlight.

The FRIGATE in ARC Raiders is enormous! How are we supposed to fight this thing? 😭📽️ u/cybrsloth92 https://t.co/w2HHvCDEkK

"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 added.

With such a drastic and sudden surge in attention, more highlight reels have started circulating on social media. New tools like the Grappling Hook offer obvious opportunities for shareable clips, allowing Raiders to attach to everything from steep cliffs to flying Arc. Many can't help but compare the gadget to Spider-Man's web-swinging.

"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 as you'd expect, giving players the ability to capture memories with the click of a button. Given that Arc Raiders has thrived on the comedy generated by its in-game systems, a camera has 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

Bullying a Rocketeer in ARC Raiders using the new grappling hook 😂📽️ u/BranandWiller https://t.co/q8Q0AYUSzm

THIS IS WHY ARC RAIDERS' NEW CAMERA FEELS SO GOOD🎥JojoBobaguard https://t.co/5xvYzcdVfN

Arc Raiders is having a moment, but we'll have to see if it has truly recaptured the magic that made it such a hit at launch. Up next is testing for a dedicated PvE mode, something fans have requested since launch. Embark is certainly trying, with the game also available for 50% off on all platforms as players flock to its free weekend.

IGN gave Arc Raiders a 9/10 review when it launched almost exactly one year ago, saying, "With polished gunplay and an irresistible grind, Arc Raiders sets a new standard for extraction shooters." Even if Embark can't sustain a consistently high player count, it's clear the studio has more plans for the IP. Both it and the studio's game-show-inspired FPS, The Finals, are set to receive TV show and movie adaptations in the future.

Frozen Trail brought more new content to Arc Raiders than we could list. You can see the full patch notes below.

The cold has arrived, and it's brought a lot with it. Frozen Trail is our biggest update since launch, packed with new features, fresh challenges, and a long list of fixes and improvements.

We've been working on this one for a while, and we couldn't be more excited to finally put it in your hands. Whether you're here for the new content or just want to know what we've fixed, there's something for everyone. Grab something warm, settle in, and read on for the full breakdown.

Thank you for playing, for reporting bugs, and for sticking with us.

Changes to the Raider Skill Tree include new skills and improvements to existing skills, enabling players to better embellish their playstyle with more impactful skill choices.

We've heard the comments (and seen in the data) that the Skill Tree was not living up to its role in offering sufficiently interesting ways of building your character to better define and refine your playstyle. The goal of the Skill Tree revamp is twofold: to look at under-performing skills, modify or replace them, and to get closer to the goal of making choice and expression a more core feature of the Skill Tree.

Alongside some new skills and a reshuffling of the layout, new functionality has been added to replace the previous 'large' nodes at the middle and end of the branches. Now, for the middle of each branch, instead of having two selectable skills and two 'paths', there is one path where the node is a binary choice between two skills. You can only choose one; you will be able to make the choice again when you reset your skill tree. At the end of each branch are two nodes where you must make a choice out of three skills. Here, you can choose up to two of the three, after reaching the required skill point investment.

As this is a fairly big reimagining of the Skill Tree, there will likely be more tweaks and updates in the near future, to existing and new skills, as we see how you are engaging with it.

The Frozen Trail update introduces Weapon Stencils, a new cosmetic option that lets players personalize the look of their weapons with a range of stencil patterns. Note that stenciled weapons can still be lost like any other weapon: if you're downed, other Raiders can loot your weapon along with its stencil.

Stencils are similar to blueprints, once learned you can apply them to compatible weapons. Applying Stencils requires Stencil Parts, which can be found Topside.

New Outpost can be unlocked by completing a project.

Similar to blueprints, they can be learned and used to craft different furniture for your Outpost.

The Reward Pass is our new progression system and the evolution of Raider Decks. Alongside this change, Cred has been removed from the game and replaced by Reward Points, a new currency that's automatically applied toward your progress on whichever pass you currently have active.

The first new pass is the Frozen Trail Pass, featuring 60 levels across a Free and a Premium track.

Your existing Raider Decks haven't gone anywhere. They've been moved into the new Legacy Pass, and any rewards you've already unlocked are kept and will appear as granted. You can continue progressing through the Legacy Pass at any time by setting it as your active pass. Note that only one Reward Pass can be active at a time, so your Reward Points will go toward whichever pass you've selected.

Feats are now split into 3 different categories: Easy, Medium and Hard.

Weekly milestones are granting 250 Reward Points each, there are 3 of them available per week:

After completing your weekly milestones, you can keep completing Feats, but no major milestone rewards will be granted until the weekly timer is reset.

You can grab some new backpack attachments by watching your favorite streamer play ARC Raiders! You'll need to watch at least 60 minutes to receive the Oxygen Respirator, and 120 minutes for the Mailbox. These drops will be live between October 8 - November 4, 2026.

We have recently begun taking further action to restrict accounts that store high amounts of duplicated items and remove items that were obtained through duplication from player inventories. This is done to help correct the in-game economy and clean up items that have appeared through past exploits.

(most fixes are already in the works and will be implemented in an upcoming Live Update)

See you on Pendola Pass,The ARC Raiders Team