ARC Raiders Roadmap for 2026

ARC Raiders Roadmap for 2026 Quick Summary:

• New updates are introduced, along with the list of things they’ll bring to the table.
• Headwinds: Solo vs Squads matchmaking option, new Bird City map condition, Trophy Display player project.
• Shrouded Sky: New map condition, new ARC enemy, new project, Raider Deck, map update, and the Expedition window for reset.
• Flashpoint: New map condition, new ARC threat once again, a new player project, and Scrappy update.
• Riven Tides: New map, new large ARC, new map condition, and a (hopefully) new Expedition.

Feel like your luck of getting new Blueprints has run out? Check our ARC Raiders Blueprints to get just what you need.

ARC Raiders Escalation Roadmap

ARC Raiders is one of a few games to beat its max player count after a few months after release, which is a sign that the developer studio is doing something right. The major reason is the constant content updates that keep the game fresh and entertaining. The Cold Snap event is over, and the developers released a roadmap, titled Escalation, to let us see what’s coming soon. Here are the names of every update coming:

1. Headwinds
2. Shrouded Sky
3. Flashpoint
4. Riven Tides

Every month promises to bring some new features. The January update is releasing today, and we already have a pretty good idea of what’s to expect there. The same cannot be said about the future game updates, but having watched the dev diaries, I can make some educated guesses. Let’s take a look at the ARC Raiders Escalation roadmap.

Headwinds: January Update

Starting off with the latest update in ARC Raiders. I’ll have a more detailed explanation of this update in the upcoming article, but for now, let’s have a brief overview of it. We have three announced features, which are a new matchmaking option for levels 40 and above, a new minor map condition, and a player project. The developers already explained how they’ll work, so let’s take a look at the first update in the ARC Raiders roadmap update schedule:

• Solo vs. Squads: The new matchmaking option lets you fight solo against groups of people if you are above lvl 40. That’s an interesting feature, especially for those who are tired of friendlies in solos, as in groups, people are far less friendly. You get +20% XP for a raid like this. Release your inner John Wick in this matchmaking.
• Bird City Map Modifier: This map modifier is available for Buried City. Bird City - Buried City, I see what you did there. This modifier adds bird nests to building chimneys. Looks like you can get some Trinkets in there. In addition, there’ll be more bird traps and ziplines, as well as flying ARCs.
• Trophy Display Project: A new player project. This time it’s not time-limited. You’ll be hunting ARCs and trading their details for rewards. According to the name, you can build a trophy display, with each project level adding new things to show off. The rewards are Blueprints, Raider Tokens, a new emote, a legendary Guitar, and 300,000 Coins. Not bad.

Along with major changes, we get 7 new quests and 2 new Epic augments. Hopefully they’re actually good and not some crazy situational ones.

Shrouded Sky: February Update

Onto the next ARC Raiders update. This and the following updates have no info on them, so now we can only speculate based on what the developers have been saying. The Shrouded Sky update is the largest in terms of features, at least as described. As per usual, we get a new map condition and a player project. The new features include new ARC (tied to a map condition, maybe?), a Raider Deck, a map update, and an Expedition window. Here are all the new features listed:

• New Map Condition: Considering that we have a minor map condition in this update, would it be a stretch to think that we’ll have a new major map condition? With the name of the update being “Shrouded Sky”, maybe it’ll be something like Electromagnetic Storm. I also remember that there were rumors about a volcanic eruption as a map condition, but the background image of this update clearly shows a rainy sky.
• New ARC Threat: This can be anything, but it’s definitely not a big ARC, like Matriarch or Queen. There’s a clear lack of walking ARCs in the game currently. The devs mentioned something about bringing Shredders to more maps, but they wouldn’t call it a new ARC threat then.
• Player Project: I can’t lie, I actually like the process of ticking the checkboxes, but they need to introduce something interesting to this process instead of just searching the trashcans in hopes of finding the needed material.
• Raider Deck: Yippie, a new skinpack. Tbh, the hockey player skin from the latest Raider Deck is kind of cool. I’d actually say it’s better than most paid skins released previous season.
• Map Update: This is much more interesting. Will those be minor changes? Major map overhaul? Deleting Spaceport from the playlist? Who knows.
• Expedition Window: The second from the ARC Raiders Expedition windows. From what the developers have said, they’ll be reworking the Expeditions after this one. Good thing, the rewards are underwhelming, and the loot you have to look for isn’t that different from the previous Expedition. 

I’m waiting for this update, as the January update kinda feels like a little treat before something major comes up. Devs will probably release it close to March, when Marathon comes out. With how quickly Destiny 2 developers’ child regained its hype, they need to make something really good to compete with a new game. BLOG20

Flashpoint: March Update

The March update is similar in size to the January update, but it’s too early to call it a minor one. After all, if you look at the bottom of the roadmap, you’ll see mentions of new quests and new feats. I’d gamble and say it’s going to be an update that focuses on solving some issues with the game and introducing new QoL features. A feature to create quick loadouts would be really nice. If you are a console player, you know the pain of cleaning up your inventory. The list of the new features in order:

• New Map Condition: If the cycle of updates remains the same, then we can expect a minor map condition once again. Knowing that the developers always try to follow weather conditions typical for the season, we might expect something like Lush Blooms.
• New ARC Threat: One more ARC enemy! You can’t have too many of them. People from the studio said that they intend to make the ARCs more aggressive and dangerous in order to make them feel scary again. Apparently, they aren’t big fans of us just running past ARCs to loot and extract in the first five minutes of the match.
• Player Project: If the player projects follow the same principle as the one in the January update, we’re gonna have one of the few live-service games, excluding the FOMO factor altogether.
• Scrappy Update: This one’s pretty interesting. Can’t even imagine what it's going to look like. Since it’s titled “update” and not “rework”, we might have additional things Scrappy can bring us between the raids.

This update may introduce a new era of ARC Raiders, because we may expect changes to how the Expedition project works. March is definitely going to be a make-or-break time for the game, as you may expect some part of the player base to migrate to a new extraction shooter. One thing ARC Raiders really needs to improve is its solo experience, as it’s inferior to squads in many ways.

Riven Tides: April Update

If Shrouded Sky is the biggest update with its list of updates, this update will be the biggest in quality among them. We have a new map and a new large ARC. Do you think they’ll find a way to finally introduce the huge ARCs visible on the horizon of some maps? After all, early gameplay footage showed players fighting Baron or something that looks close to it. Let’s hope that the devs won’t stop innovating. Check out the features for the last update on the roadmap:

• New Map: Looking at the image background, we see some sort of beach and something that looks like a broken boat. The icon depicting a new map also shows an umbrella. Beach episode in ARC Raiders?
• New Large ARC: That’s what I’m talking about. Hopefully, it’s bigger and more dangerous than Queen or Matriarch. Also, hope the legendary gun is something actually useful at all times and not situational. There’s not much point in killing huge ARCs unless it’s for Trials now.
• New Map Condition: One of the more interesting new map conditions for ARC Raiders. The update is called Riven Tides, so we might expect some condition connected to flooding. Maybe parts of the map will become randomly flooded, or random extraction points will be inaccessible. Anyway, I’d expect some map condition connected with a new map and update theme.
• Expedition Window: A new and updated Expedition, at least according to what the developers claim. Hope it won’t take too long for them to introduce a new type of Expedition, since doing the current one is quite boring and feels like a checklist. At least give us better bonuses for doing it. It is better than other wipe systems, but it feels almost like an afterthought in its current state.

And that’s it for all updates from the ARC Raiders roadmap 2026. Now all we can do is to eagerly wait and see what the developers have in store for us. April can’t come any sooner. Idk about you, but I’ll be heading to test the new update after finishing this article. Who knows, I might see you there. If you see a person dancing in response to your don’t shoot, that’s likely me. Please don’t kill me if you didn’t like the overview.

Read our other ARC Raiders guides:

• All Map Conditions
• Trials Guide
• Expedition Guide
• Best Maps

F.A.Q.