ARC Raiders Gets Four-Day Free Trial Alongside Frozen Trail Update

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ARC Raiders will be free to play from October 8 at 09:00 UTC through October 12 at 08:00 UTC, 2026, on Steam, Xbox, and PlayStation. The trial includes access to the full game, giving new players a chance to squad up, scavenge, fight ARC machines, and extract before deciding whether to buy.

The free period lands alongside Frozen Trail, the game’s largest update since launch and its first-anniversary window. The headline addition is Pendola Pass, a new frozen map set around an old Italian village and transport hub beyond the Rust Belt. New players can access it right away if they team with someone who has already unlocked the area.

  • Pendola Pass adds locations like a supermarket, town square, observatory, and buried train depot, with flash freezes affecting the valley.
  • The Frigate, one of ARC’s largest vessels, can be boarded near the crash site for interior fights, path unlocking, and competing or cooperating with other Raiders.
  • New ARC enemies include the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra turret.
  • The Raider Den gets an Outpost extension, with customizable modules, furniture, and a Research Workstation for deeper weapon modding.
  • Fifteen weapons can now reach a fifth quality tier through Amplified Weapons, adding branching upgrades like alternate fire behavior, scopes, or larger magazines.
  • New gear includes the Stiletto battle rifle, Bantam revolver, Grappling Hook, Tether Launcher, Yank Grenade, camera gadget, instruments, and weapon stencils.

Frozen Trail also brings new questlines, a skill tree rework, and a new map condition. The old Raider Decks system is being folded into Reward Passes, with a free pass, a premium pass, and a free Legacy Pass that combines existing Raider Deck content. A Collector Set DLC will bundle both passes with extra cosmetics and Raider Tokens.

Further reading: Official ARC Raiders free weekend news