Arc Raiders is having its busiest stretch on Steam in months. Embark Studios’ extraction shooter reached 185,000 concurrent players on Steam, according to SteamDB figures reported by GamesRadar+, after the studio released its Frozen Trail update on October 8 and opened the full game to everyone for a free play weekend.

That is the highest Steam count the game has seen since March, GamesRadar+ reported. It is still far from the game’s all time Steam peak, but it is a sharp turnaround from the late summer slump.

From a slump to a rebound

According to GamesRadar+, Arc Raiders’ Steam numbers had been falling since May and hit a low point in September. The count jumped as soon as the Frozen Trail patch arrived and kept rising over the free weekend.

Embark is not pretending the spike is permanent. Leon San José Larsson, a full stack engineer at the studio, wrote: “It won’t last forever, of course, but it’s great seeing so many people back again after almost a year.”

What Frozen Trail adds

Embark has described Frozen Trail as “our biggest update since launch,” KitGuru reported. The update brings:

  • A new map called Pendola Pass
  • Three new Arc enemies named Bully, Skulker and Hydra
  • A customisable outpost for players
  • New weapons and gadgets, including a grapple hook
  • Changes to the progression system

Massively Overpowered added that a new Reward Pass replaces the Raider Decks, and that players who teamed up with someone who had already unlocked the new map could reach the new content from the start of the promotion.

The free weekend has ended

The free play period ran on Steam, Xbox and PlayStation and gave players access to the full game. KitGuru reported that it started on October 8 and closed on the morning of October 12, so anyone who wants to keep playing now needs to buy the game. The sources did not say whether the game was discounted during the event, and no Canadian pricing changes were announced.

What it means for you

If you tried Arc Raiders over the weekend, or you stopped playing earlier this year, this is the best moment in months to jump back in. More players on Steam usually means faster matchmaking and busier raids, and the new map and enemies give returning players something fresh to learn.

If you are deciding whether to buy, keep the developer’s own caution in mind: player counts after a big update often settle down over the following weeks. The more useful question is whether the steady flow of content continues. Frozen Trail suggests Embark plans to keep the game moving, but the studio has not shared a road map for the next update in the sources we reviewed.

Arc Raiders is available on PC through Steam, as well as on Xbox and PlayStation.