ARC Raiders Hits 185,000 Steam Players After Frozen Trail Update

ARC Raiders has reached its highest Steam player count in seven months following the launch of its Frozen Trail update and a limited-time free trial. Embark Studios' extraction shooter peaked at 185,443 concurrent Steam players on October 11, 2026, according to Steam.

The surge follows several months of declining activity, with Steam player counts falling considerably after the game's successful launch in October 2025. Frozen Trail arrived on October 8 with a new map, enemies, weapons and progression changes. Despite the renewed interest, Embark has acknowledged that the increase may not last.

ARC Raiders surpassed 125,000 concurrent Steam players on the first day of Frozen Trail before climbing to 185,443 over the weekend. The game had not reached that level since March, with daily peaks dropping below 40,000 in September.

The recovery is substantial, although the latest figure remains below the game's all-time Steam peak of 481,966 concurrent players, recorded in November 2025. These figures represent players online simultaneously through Steam, not the game's total audience across PC and consoles.

The update also coincided with a free trial running from October 8 to October 12 on Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Players could access the full game temporarily, while a 50% discount was also offered during the promotion.

With the free trial now over, the coming weeks will provide a clearer indication of how many players continue returning after the promotion.

Embark describes Frozen Trail as the biggest ARC Raiders update since launch. Its main addition is Pendola Pass, a mountainous region beyond the Rust Belt featuring new locations, environmental hazards and valuable resources.

The update introduces three ARC enemies: Bully, Skulker and Hydra. Players also receive two new weapons, Bantam and Stiletto, alongside equipment such as the Grappling Hook and Tether Launcher.

Character progression has received substantial changes. Embark has redesigned the Skill Tree to provide more meaningful build choices, introduced a Reward Pass system and added 22 quests. Existing Raider Decks remain available through a Legacy Pass, with previously unlocked rewards preserved.

The new Outpost introduces additional crafting and research options, while amplified weapons allow players to improve their equipment further. Several quality-of-life changes also address community feedback, including increased stash capacity and the ability to open the map while downed.

Embark full-stack engineer Leon San José Larsson acknowledged the renewed interest after the game's Steam player count passed 150,000.

"It won't last forever, of course, but it's great seeing so many people back again after almost a year," Larsson wrote on X.

Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal previously explained to GamesRadar+ that Embark anticipated losing some players when it moved away from frequent content updates. The studio accepted that trade-off to give developers more time to create substantial additions.

Rather than continually releasing smaller updates, Embark now aims to deliver major content releases roughly every six months. Grøndal said the previous schedule had become difficult to sustain, leaving developers with insufficient time to make meaningful improvements.

The studio hopes updates like Frozen Trail will encourage players to return while allowing the development team to maintain a healthier production schedule.

Embark is also testing a PvE matchmaking option from October 13 to October 20. The limited test lets players fight ARC enemies without taking damage from other players, although loot rewards and some map conditions are restricted. The studio will use participation data and community feedback to evaluate whether the option should return.