Is the Long-Missing Raider Deck Finally Returning to ARC Raiders? | Frozen Trail May Reveal the Answer This October
Category: ARC Raiders Posted: Aug 17, 2026 Views: 22
Since its official release in October 2025, ARC Raiders has maintained a fairly active update schedule. However, in recent Live Updates, one piece of content that was previously announced by the official team has yet to appear - the paid Raider Deck.
Meanwhile, with the approaching October Frozen Trail update, discussions within the player community about the game's future content are becoming increasingly heated. Below, I will outline the current update status for all Raiders and, based on this, provide a preview of the game's future.
Current Content Gap & Phantom Targets Project

Judging from the current update schedule, ARC Raiders is currently in a relatively low content gap. Live Updates are released approximately every three weeks, but the content is mostly focused on bug fixes, with few substantial new additions. Among the recent updates, the most notable is the Phantom Targets Player Project.
According to the official announcement, the first part of Phantom Targets project launched with Store Update 1.40.0 on August 4, 2026. In this project, players need to repair faulty antennas to triangulate signals and employ unconventional strategies to counter ARC. The second part of the project was released with 1.42 on August 18. The entire project will last until September 6, 2026.
However, for many veteran players who have already explored all the game's content, the novelty of a limited-time project is ultimately limited, and projects like Phantom Targets are often quickly completed. This has led many to yearn for more systematic and long-term content, such as Raider Deck.
Raider Deck: The Forgotten Battle Pass
What is Raider Deck?

Raider Deck is a progression system similar to Battle Pass in ARC Raiders. Players earn Creds by completing daily Feats and then use Creds to unlock various rewards in the Raider Deck page by page. These rewards include cosmetic items, item packs, and premium currency, Raider Tokens.
Free Raider Deck
To date, ARC Raiders has released three free Raider Decks. The first, Starter Raider Deck, was released at game launch; the second, Goalie Raider Deck, was released on December 26, 2025; and the third, Surgeon Raider Deck, was released with Shrouded Sky update on February 24, 2026.
However, since February 24, 2026, there has been no new Raider Deck released for over five months. Considering that a new Raider Deck was released approximately every two months in the early stages of the game's release, this gap is indeed exceptionally long and perplexing.
Paid Raider Deck
More noteworthy is that the studio publicly announced back in November 2025 that a paid Premium Raider Deck would be released in the future. At the time, the official statement clearly indicated that gameplay items would only appear in the free Raider Deck. The paid Raider Deck would not contain any items that altered gameplay or were pay-to-win, focusing solely on aesthetics and convenience.
However, since then, we have never seen the actual paid Raider Deck in any public release. In fact, during Tech Test in April and May 2025, three placeholder content items resembling paid passes appeared - Back Alley Market, Secluded Courtyard, and Shuttered Storefront.
These, then called Battle Passes rather than Raider Decks, each cost 500 Raider Tokens, but offered a 300-Token refund. However, these included gameplay-related items such as weapon blueprints, clearly contradicting the official promise.
This is perhaps the fundamental reason why the paid Raider Deck has been delayed - finding a balance between excluding pay-to-win items and providing attractive paid content is a difficult task for any game developer.
Frozen Trail Update: Raider Deck will return on October 8th

The good news is that ARC Raiders will receive its largest update to date on October 8th, 2026, which includes the Raiders Deck:
- A brand new snow map - Rust Belt Edge, the largest new map to date, featuring abandoned villages, underground research facilities, mountain observatories, and more, emphasizing vertical exploration.
- New ARC Operations & Enemies - A brand new large-scale ARC Operation, and two new enemy types: small, agile troublemakers and giant, immobilizing machines.
- A redesigned progression system - new Raider progression goals.
- Skill tree adjustments - more Skill Points/progression options.
- ARC Origins Story - beginning to unravel the mysteries of what ARC is and where it came from.
- Outpost - a new private outpost to explore and decorate.
- Raider Deck - more attractive and valuable to players.
- More new content - new weapons, items, instruments, and skins.
While waiting for Frozen Trail to launch, players who want to prepare game resources or enhance their characters can buy ARC Raiders items at IGGM.com to better prepare for the unknown new enemies.
Before placing an order, you can earn points by registering and logging into your IGGM account and participating in daily check-ins. These points can be redeemed for IGGM Coupon, helping you acquire various game resources at lower prices.
Update Pace Adjustment and Future Outlook
From Monthly to Semi-Annual Updates
In May 2026, the studio announced an adjustment to the update pace of ARC Raiders. The previous monthly major update model will be changed to two major updates per year.
The official explanation stated that the pressure of monthly updates limited the depth and impact of the updates, claiming that this pace was unsustainable and incompatible with their greater ambitions for the game. After the adjustment, each major update will be larger in scale and more impactful, aiming to truly change the way the game is played.
Filling the Gaps
During the six-month gap between major updates, the official team promised to maintain the game's vitality through daily Live Updates, balance adjustments, bug fixes, store updates, and player activities.
However, for the player community, the situation of not having a new Raider Deck for more than five months remains a concern. Many players hope to see more content worth grinding in future Live Updates, such as a new weapon or utility item every two months, regular Raider Deck updates, or the introduction of a Prestige skin system to keep players who have reached the level cap motivated.
Conclusion
It's been almost a year since the official mention of a paid Raider Deck in November 2025. With the upcoming Frozen Trail update, we have reason to expect more news about the future of Raider Deck in October - whether it's a new free Raider Deck or the paid version that's only been mentioned in announcements.
For players, the period before October may require patience. But as the official statement says, Frozen Trail is just the beginning of where ARC Raiders is headed. With adjustments to the update schedule and a shift in development focus, the future of this game remains promising.
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