ARC Raiders: Embark Studios weighs scrapping Expeditions before Frozen Trail on October 8

The studio has not announced a final decision on Expeditions yet, so it remains unclear whether the system will be adjusted or removed entirely.

The game’s next major update is Frozen Trail, which arrives on October 8 and has been announced by Embark as the biggest update since launch.

What happened

Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said in a conversation about ARC Raiders that Embark Studios is re-evaluating the Expeditions system. That does not just mean possible tweaks, but also the chance that the system could be removed entirely. According to the reporting, this is not a finished decision, but an option being discussed inside the studio.

That comment comes as ARC Raiders heads toward Frozen Trail, the major update due on October 8. Embark has described that update as the biggest content update since the game launched. The official announcement ties Frozen Trail to a new map and other content, but the key point around Expeditions is that the studio has not yet drawn a final line under its future.

Available information also suggests that the fifth Expedition ends later in September. That creates a clear transition period between the current Expedition cycle and the arrival of Frozen Trail. Even so, it has not been confirmed whether that fifth Expedition will also be the last one. Embark has not shared a public final decision on that yet.

For now, the main takeaway is uncertainty: Embark is exploring major changes, but has not settled on whether Expeditions will return in an adjusted form or disappear altogether. The studio has confirmed that Frozen Trail launches on October 8, making that the next fixed date when more clarity could arrive on ARC Raiders’ update roadmap.

Background

ARC Raiders currently uses an Expeditions system, but Embark Studios has not communicated a fixed direction for its future. The studio does say that major changes are being considered, including the possibility of removing the system entirely. That makes Expeditions one of the biggest open questions in the game’s live-service planning.

The discussion around Expeditions did not come out of nowhere. The cited reporting points to player criticism over the grind, limited departure windows, and relatively small rewards. That context helps explain why Embark is reportedly looking not only at balance changes, but also at a more drastic move such as scrapping the system.

Frozen Trail is the next fixed milestone in ARC Raiders’ update calendar. The official announcement sets October 8 as the release date and describes the update as the biggest since launch. In external context, Frozen Trail is also linked to a new map, a new ARC Operation, new ARCs, the Outpost, and more, but the only confirmed detail right now is the October 8 release date.

That leaves ARC Raiders on a fairly clear timeline: the fifth Expedition ends later in September, Frozen Trail follows on October 8, and after that Embark may be able to say more about the future of Expeditions. Until then, the system’s status remains undecided. The sources explicitly say it is still unknown whether Expeditions will return in the same form, an adjusted form, or not at all.

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Sources

• Game Rant: report on the future of Expeditions in ARC Raiders and comments from Aleksander Grøndal.
• Official ARC Raiders announcement: Frozen Trail arrives on October 8, 2026.