Arc Raiders '2.0 Update and 'Spider-Man' Grappling Hook Drive Player Count to Reach 7-Month High
The new Arc Raiders 2.0 update has triggered a seven-month high for its concurrent player count on Steam as fans show up for its "Spider-Man" grappling hook, a new map, a free weekend, and more. Embark's once-viral extraction experience had a rough few months; after slowing down updates and reworking its divisive Expedition prestige system, players largely left it behind. After reaching an all-time peak of nearly 500,000 players on Steam, the game consistently struggled to reach more than 35,000 players on PC since July. The Frozen Trail update, which launched two days ago across PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, has almost immediately brought back some of that hype. In September, Arc Raiders reached a player count low of just 10,000 on Steam. As of the publication of this story, 166,670 people are logged onto Arc Raiders on the PC platform alone, marking a notable spike since December 2025.
This resurgence is thanks to Frozen Trail and the free weekend that helped usher it in. The update introduced game-changing content, with its crown jewel being Pendola Pass, a snowy mountainous region located beyond Raiders' usual home in the Rust Belt. New buildings to loot and shoot through are only part of the appeal; new Arc threats like the Bully, Skulker, and Hydra have shaken up combat encounters. Furthermore, tools like the Tether Launcher and the Grappling Hook give players exciting new ways to experiment with gameplay.
The positive reception was evident on Reddit, where one popular post read: "I was not a believer," followed by, "This is one of the best updates ever in a video game." The author admitted to being a lapsed fan who quit due to frustration with previous development cycles. They concluded that while they know it may not reach its peak popularity, what matters is that they were wrong about the developers' ability to update the game.
Other highlights include Pendola Pass's size and the new UFO-style Arc ship known as the Frigate. Players have been praising the scale of the map and the sheer amount of content delivered in a short time. New tools like the Grappling Hook are particularly popular, allowing players to swing through maps much like Spider-Man, leading to shareable clips across social media. The addition of an Advanced Camera system also gives players new ways to capture memories within the game's chaotic systems.