ARC Raiders adds paid 'Reward Pass' tier as Frozen Trail update lands Oct 8
Embark is scrapping free Raider Decks for a Free/Premium Reward Pass system, prompting early skepticism from gaming press ahead of launch.
What happened
Embark Studios has confirmed the next big ARC Raiders update, Frozen Trail, lands 8 October — that's 6am AEST Brisbane/Sydney/Melbourne (still AEST until daylight saving kicks in Sun 4 Oct), 5:30am ACST Adelaide, 4am AWST Perth, going by the studio's usual midnight UTC drop time. Alongside the new Pendola Pass map, a downed Emperor-class ARC and the boardable Frigate airship, Embark used a dedicated blog post to explain a bigger structural change: Reward Passes are a natural evolution of Raider Decks that let players complete Feats to unlock outfits, cosmetic items, gadgets, weapons, items, and Raider Tokens.
What changed
The old Cred currency and Raider Deck system are gone. Embark's own reasoning: Raider Decks had an issue where players accumulated Cred at a rate that became difficult to keep up with, so when a new Deck released many players finished it right away, making rewards feel less rewarding and leaving little motivation to keep tackling Feats.
In its place, Frozen Trail launches with two passes:
- Frozen Trail Pass – contains 60 levels to progress, with both a Free and Premium option. The Free track includes all the new base outfits, plus new cosmetic items, weapons, gadgets, items, and a total of up to 200 Raider Tokens.
- Premium track – unlocks premium toggles, modifications, and colorways for the new outfits, plus exclusive legendary weapon stencils, hairstyles, and up to 1,150 Raider Tokens, and can be earned back in Tokens if fully completed.
- Legacy Pass – combines all of the cosmetic rewards and Raider Tokens from old Raider Decks into a single Free Pass, so nothing already earned is lost.
- Collector Set DLC on Steam grants instant Premium access plus exclusive cosmetics and 2,400 Raider Tokens, for players who want the full package day one.
Embark has stressed the Premium track is cosmetic-only. At a press preview, executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said the premium path of the reward pass is purely cosmetics and things that make you look different — weapon stencils, new customisation toggles, more premium currency — with no gameplay advantage for players who upgrade.
What players are saying
Independent coverage has been openly sceptical, even while praising the rest of the update. Insider Gaming's framing was blunt: Reward Passes have been dubbed an 'evolution' over the old Raider Deck mechanic, but to the chagrin of gamers everywhere, it's just another way of talking about paid battle passes.
games.gg went further, arguing the Raider Deck being completely free was one of the things that made ARC Raiders feel different from the wave of extraction shooters that charge you at every turn, and removing it isn't a small change. The same outlet did credit Embark for softening the blow, noting the Legacy Pass is a smart move and keeping a free tier is the bare minimum, but the shift toward a premium cosmetic tier signals Embark is tightening its monetisation model.
GamesRadar+ summed the mood up as a "don't panic" moment from Embark — proof the studio knew this would ruffle feathers and got ahead of it with cosmetic-only assurances. No large, verified Reddit or Steam-review threads on this specific post were turning up publicly at time of writing (it's barely a day old), so treat community temperature as still forming ahead of the 8 October launch.
What it means for you
Nothing pay-to-win: gear, weapons and gadgets stay on the Free track, and OCE players who've been grinding Raider Decks keep everything via the Legacy Pass — no progress lost. The catch is a genuine paid cosmetic layer has entered the game for the first time, and whether the Free track stays generous long-term is the thing to watch once Season 6 content starts rolling out post-Frozen Trail.
Watch this space
Frozen Trail and the first Reward Pass go live 8 October (from roughly 6am AEST). Worth checking Steam reviews and r/ArcRaiders in the days after launch once players can actually grind the 60 levels themselves.
What to watch next: Frozen Trail and the first Reward Pass go live 8 October (~6am AEST/AEDT-pending, check Discord for exact patch time); watch r/ArcRaiders and Steam reviews once players can actually grind it.
Sources
- Reward Passes: our new progression mechanic, explained – ARC Raiders
- Arc Raiders is adding a battle pass with a paid tier, Embark says don't panic – GamesRadar+
- ARC Raiders is Finally Getting a Paid Battle Pass Mechanic – Insider Gaming
- ARC Raiders Is Adding a Paid Battle Pass With Frozen Trail – games.gg
- Arc Raiders is removing Cred for a 'more expansive reward system' – PCGamesN
- ARC Raiders' Frozen Trail Update Opens a New Frontier – IDC Games
Researched and written by ClutchBot News Desk (Claude + live web search) for The Clutch Club — PapaKow's community. Community voices are paraphrased. Spotted something wrong? Tell us in the Discord.