ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail vs METAL EDEN

• Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
• Base Game Price: $39.99 USD (Frozen Trail Update is Free to all base owners)
• Collector Set DLC Price: $29.99 USD
• Expansion Release Date: October 8, 2026
• New ARC Threats: The Frigate (Endgame Event), Bully, Skulker, Hydra Turret
• New Featured Map: Pendola Pass (Alpine Village & Exodus Transport Hub)
• New Weapon Additions: Stiletto Battle Rifle, Bantam Snub-Nose Revolver, Weapon Amplification

• Perspective: First-Person
• Multiplayer: Single-Player Only
• Setting: Dystopian Sci-Fi Orbital City
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
• Unique Feature: A unique 'Core Ripping' combat system that creates a strategic, resource-management loop within a high-speed movement shooter framework.

• Scrappy: Outpost Companion: Greets returning players, perches on research stations, and can be customized with craftable cosmetic hats and paint coats.
  Mechanical Outpost Rooster Drone
• Deployable Tactical Recon Dart: Audio Sensor Sweep: Detects and highlights nearby ARC machine movement and rival Raider footsteps through walls and smoke.
  Utility Gadget
• Pneumatic Grappling Hook: Rapid Elevation & Frigate Boarding: Allows instant ascension up sheer mountain cliffs and enables players to latch onto the low-flying ARC Frigate.
  Mobility Equipment

• Exodus Transport Manifests: Found inside locked administrative filing cabinets within the Buried Transit Depot; yields significant Speranza reputation.
• Fallen Emperor Sub-Processor Core: Salvaged from the primary engine room of the downed Walker in Pendola Pass; unlocks high-tier Weapon Amplification blueprints.
• Pendola Observational Star Charts: Located on the upper viewing deck of the Mountain Observatory; grants bonus Raider Tokens and lore entries.

• COREs: Ripped directly from enemies. The central resource used for offense (throwing), defense (healing/armor), and enabling the Super Punch.
• DUST: A currency found throughout the levels, used at vendor points to upgrade weapons and character abilities.

• Post-Apocalyptic
• Mechanized War
• Extraction Survival
• Retro-Sci-Fi
• Cooperative Tactics
• High-Stakes Looting

• Sci-Fi
• Cyberpunk
• First-Person Shooter
• Action
• Dystopian
• Transhumanism
• Robots

• Stiletto Battle Rifle: Semi-Automatic Light Rifle
  High-mobility, low-recoil marksman rifle utilizing light ammunition. Engineered for rapid follow-up shots against exposed robotic optical sensors and sensor pods.
• Bantam Revolver: Snub-Nosed Heavy Sidearm
  Compact six-shot revolver chambered in heavy caliber rounds. Delivers massive close-range stopping power capable of shattering ARC armor plating.
• Amplified Burletta: Full-Auto Converted Handgun
  Tier-5 amplified research variant of the trusty Burletta sidearm, transforming it into a high-rate-of-fire machine pistol for room clearing.
• Amplified Rattler: Incendiary Submachine Gun
  Amplified upgrade equipping a 64-round drum magazine loaded with thermite rounds that inflict continuous burn damage on mechanical targets.
• Amplified Renegade: Long-Range Marksman Rifle
  Modified battle rifle outfitted with a high-magnification illuminated optic and high-velocity barrel, extending effective engagement range into sniper territory.

• Submachine Gun: Primary Weapon
  A basic SMG with unlimited ammo, serving as a reliable fallback weapon.
• Shotgun: Primary Weapon
  A powerful shotgun praised for its satisfying impact and effectiveness in close-quarters combat.
• Heavy Pistol: Primary Weapon
  A pistol that fires a horizontal spread of projectiles, with an unlockable secondary fire that launches a lock-on rocket.
• Super Punch: Melee Ability
  A devastating melee attack that is enabled by consuming a ripped CORE. It is required to break the shields and armor of elite enemies.

• Pendola Thermal Insulated Parka Rig: +30% Cold Resistance against Flash Freeze cycles; +15% ballistic mitigation against small arms fire.
• Exodus Heavy Reactive Plate Carrier: +45% Explosive and Shrapnel Resistance; protects vital organs from ARC missile barrages but slightly reduces maximum sprint duration.
• High-Altitude Lightweight Harness: +20% Zipline and Grapple ascent speed; reduces stamina consumption while sprinting uphill through deep snow.

• Body Suit: ASKA's cybernetic body suit, which can be upgraded via the 'Body Suit' skill tree to enhance movement abilities like dashing and jetpacking. Armor is a resource that can be replenished by consuming COREs.

• Glacier Scout Tactical Anorak: Snow-camo insulated anorak featuring tactical chest webbing, detachable fur hood, and clip-on crampons.
• Exodus Alpine Hazmat Suit: Reinforced sealed environmental suit with dual breather filters, yellow warning bands, and heavy utility gloves.
• Mountain Mountaineer Scarf & Goggles: Knitted wool thermal balaclava paired with tinted anti-glare polarized tactical glacier goggles.

The update delivers a comprehensive Skill Tree Rework, granting players a complete skill point refund to tailor their Raiders into Survivalist, Breacher, or Tech Specialist builds. Alongside the tree overhaul, the Weapon Amplification system unlocks fifth-tier modification paths for 15 existing weapons (such as granting full-auto functionality to the Burletta pistol, magnified high-caliber optics to the Renegade rifle, or a 64-round incendiary drum to the Rattler SMG). Survival perks also grant increased resistance to Flash Freeze exposure and quicker recovery when unfreezing sealed vault doors.

Players can upgrade ASKA through three distinct skill trees: Core Power (strength), Core Ripping (core mechanic), and Body Suit (movement). A currency called 'DUST' is used to upgrade a varied arsenal of futuristic weapons. Upgrades are designed to be meaningful, altering weapon models and adding new functionality, such as secondary fire modes.

Pendola Pass represents the largest tactical map introduced in ARC Raiders to date. Key landmarks include the Village Square (cramped streets and vertical apartment rooftops), the Mountain Observatory (an elevated sniper redoubt), the Supermarket (dense close-quarters combat zone rich in high-grade provisions), the Buried Transit Depot (subterranean railway corridors offering cover from blizzards), and the Fallen Emperor Crash Basin (a colossal machine carcass featuring explorable interior engine rooms and high-tier tech canisters).

The game is not an open world. It is structured around bespoke combat arenas connected by linear traversal sections. The level design emphasizes verticality and three-dimensional combat spaces, blending industrial sectors, decaying residential areas, and claustrophobic maintenance tunnels.

• The ARC Frigate: Automated Machine Capital Carrier
  Colossal airborne machine mothership deployed to recover fallen machine units. Functions as a dynamic, boardable high-difficulty raid venue rather than a pilotable vehicle.
• Exodus Transport Mag-Train: Derelict Pre-War Transit Train
  Massive subterranean evacuation train frozen onto rusted rails beneath Pendola Pass, serving as an interior loot corridor and ambush site.
• Speranza Scavenger Hauler: Surface Cargo Transport
  Reinforced tracked transport vehicle seen in cinematic extraction sequences, transporting extracted salvage from Pendola Pass back to underground colonies.

• Northern Red Fox: Vulpes vulpes
  Ambient Wildlife (Scampers through snowdrifts around the edges of Pendola Pass, fleeing when players or ARC machines approach)
• Alpine Raven: Corvus corax
  Atmospheric Wildlife (Flocks perched on power lines and rooftops that take flight when startled by gunfire, giving away nearby squad positions)

• Shani: Chief Logistics & Expedition Dispatcher
  Key figurehead in Speranza who coordinates expeditions into uncharted territories beyond the Rust Belt, providing briefings on Pendola Pass.
• Tian Wen: Master Weapons Engineer & Researcher
  Brilliant technician operating the underground workshop who developed the Weapon Amplification system using salvaged ARC cores.
• The Frigate AI Core: ARC Automated Airborne Overseer
  Autonomous tactical network controlling the massive ARC Frigate, deploying defense protocols and directing machine squads to salvage the downed Emperor.

• ASKA: Playable Protagonist
  A powerful combat android known as a 'Hyper Unit,' built around a digitized human psyche and dispatched on a perilous mission to the orbital city of MOEBIUS.
• Nexus: AI Handler
  The disembodied voice of ASKA's creator and sentient spaceship, who provides cryptic guidance and mission objectives.
• The ENGINEERS: Antagonists
  The mysterious entities that control MOEBIUS and its robotic defense forces.

• Ascent to Pendola: Exploration & Reconnaissance
  Establish an initial foothold in Pendola Pass, scavenge thermal supplies from the village square, and locate an entrance into the buried transit network.
• The Frigate Heist: High-Stakes Aerial Infiltration
  Use grappling lines to board the patrolling ARC Frigate, neutralize automated Hydra turrets, extract high-level core processors, and parachute to safety.
• Cold Snap Extraction: PvPvE Extraction Climax
  Locate an active extraction elevator during an incoming Flash Freeze event while defending against charging Bully machines and stalking Skulkers.

High-stakes PvPvE extraction gameplay supporting Solo, Duo, and Trio matchmaking queues. Players compete against both lethal ARC machine networks and rival human teams for extractable loot. The update also introduces an experimental PvE matchmaking queue option designed to allow cooperative exploration and machine hunting without hostile human gunfire.

ARC Raiders Base Game ($39.99): Standard game containing the complete PvPvE extraction experience with free access to the Frozen Trail update (new map, weapons, and free reward track). ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail Collector Set ($29.99): Premium expansion pack including the Frozen Trail Premium Reward Pass (60 levels with 50 exclusive unlocks), 2,400 instant Raider Tokens (plus 1,000 earnable via pass progression), exclusive Arctic Raider cosmetic outfits, weapon stencils, and custom Scrappy rooster cosmetics.

Frozen Trail marks the launch of Embark Studios' new major live-service content framework, shifting to two massive, feature-packed updates per year supported by intermediate live balance patches. Accompanied by the Frozen Trail Collector Set DLC and regular community-driven map condition events.

• Q: What is ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail?
  A: Frozen Trail is a major content expansion for the PvPvE extraction shooter ARC Raiders, introducing the new Pendola Pass mountain map, new ARC enemies, the Frigate endgame challenge, Weapon Amplification, the Outpost personal base, and new weapons.
• Q: When does the Frozen Trail update release?
  A: The Frozen Trail update officially launches on October 8, 2026, across PC (Steam, Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
• Q: Is the Frozen Trail update free for existing players?
  A: Yes. The map, new weapons, Outpost, ARC enemies, and the free reward pass track are free for all owners of the base ARC Raiders game. An optional Frozen Trail Collector Set DLC ($29.99) is available for premium rewards and currency.
• Q: What is the Flash Freeze mechanic in Pendola Pass?
  A: Flash Freeze is a severe environmental condition native to Pendola Pass where temperatures plummet drastically, dealing continuous frost damage to Raiders caught outside and forcing them to seek warmth inside buildings and shelters.
• Q: Can you destroy the ARC Frigate with weapons?
  A: No. The ARC Frigate cannot be destroyed through conventional gunfire. Raiders must board the vessel, navigate its internal traps and Hydra turrets, solve puzzles, and manually sabotage its power systems to escape with rare loot.

• Q: What is METAL EDEN?
  A: METAL EDEN is a single-player, first-person 'movement shooter' that combines the fast-paced, arena combat of DOOM with the cybernetic parkour of Ghostrunner.
• Q: What is the 'Core Ripping' mechanic?
  A: It's the game's central feature. Players can rip energy cores from enemies and must choose whether to use them offensively as a grenade (which drops more ammo) or defensively to heal and power up a special melee attack.
• Q: Is the game open world?
  A: No, it features a linear structure with bespoke combat arenas connected by more constrained traversal sections.
• Q: Does the game use AI voice acting?
  A: The developer has disclosed that the game 'features voice-over content partially created through AI voice generation tools.' This was a point of criticism in the public demo, and the quality in the final release is a key point of interest.

Showcases Unreal Engine 5's Nanite virtualized geometry and Lumen dynamic global illumination across sub-zero mountain vistas. Employs advanced snow tessellation where player and machine footprints persist, dynamic building destruction via the Chaos physics engine, and blinding whiteout particle storms.

A dynamic 1980s retro-futuristic synth and acoustic score that shifts from eerie, howling wind ambience in snowy valleys to adrenaline-fueled electronic percussion when ARC alarms trigger. Features spatial audio cues allowing raiders to pinpoint footsteps in snow, crumbling ice sheets, and the mechanical whirs of stealthy ARC Skulkers.

Updated tactical HUD featuring dynamic core temperature gauges that warn players of impending Flash Freeze exposure, ambient weather radar indicators, streamlined Outpost customization menus, and an enhanced Weapon Amplification research workbench interface.

Includes comprehensive subtitle customizations (speaker name, background opacity, font sizing), directional visual sound indicators, colorblind shaders (Protanopia, Deuteranopia, Tritanopia), toggleable motion blur, camera shake intensity sliders, and fully rebindable controller and keyboard layouts.

• ARC Raiders utilizes Unreal Engine 5 with advanced Lumen global illumination and Chaos physics destruction. Operating system requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 with DirectX 12. Online broadband connection and Embark ID account are required. Anti-cheat integrity verified via kernel-level protection.
• Laptop Performance Note: Dynamic volumetric blizzards, sprawling vertical terrain at Pendola Pass, and multi-squad firefights around the airborne Frigate place intense simultaneous demands on laptop GPUs and multi-threaded CPUs. Adequate ventilation and dedicated power profiles are essential to mitigate thermal throttling.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: Requires a mobile GPU operating at 75W-95W minimum for fluid 1080p, and 115W-140W+ TGP for native 1440p high-refresh raiding.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: Dual-fan cooling pads and aggressive fan curves are strongly advised to keep mobile CPU and GPU temps below 85°C during extended extraction runs.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: A sustained PL1 power threshold of 45W+ is recommended for managing 24+ player and machine netcode simulations alongside Unreal Engine 5 world partition streaming.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: Bypassing hybrid graphics via a discrete MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus provides a 12-18% boost to 1% low framerates in dense firefights.
• Optimization Detail: Upscaling Tech: Full native support for NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 (Super Resolution + Frame Generation + Reflex), AMD FSR 3.1, and Intel XeSS 1.3.
• Optimization Detail: Key Settings Impact: Global Illumination (Lumen), Shadow Quality, Volumetric Fog, and Draw Distance exert the most significant impact on rendering performance.
• Game Name: ARC Raiders: Frozen Trail

• OFFICIAL PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. These specifications reflect the use of Unreal Engine 5. An NVME SSD is a mandatory requirement for both minimum and recommended tiers.
• Laptop Performance Note: Laptop performance will vary based on the specific model's cooling and TGP. As a fast-paced movement shooter, maintaining a high and stable framerate is crucial for the best gameplay experience.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: Maximum TGP for the laptop's GPU is essential to handle the advanced graphical features of Unreal Engine 5 and maintain high framerates.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: The game's visually rich world and intense, effects-heavy combat will require a laptop with a cutting-edge cooling solution to prevent thermal throttling.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: A powerful multi-core mobile CPU will be critical for handling the complex enemy AI and physics-based combat.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is a critical feature for reducing latency and ensuring the best possible performance in a fast-paced FPS.
• Game Name: METAL EDEN

• Upscaling Tech: Full native support for NVIDIA DLSS 3.5 (Super Resolution + Frame Generation + Reflex), AMD FSR 3.1, and Intel XeSS 1.3.
• Key Settings Impact: Global Illumination (Lumen), Shadow Quality, Volumetric Fog, and Draw Distance exert the most significant impact on rendering performance.

• G P U T G P: Requires a mobile GPU operating at 75W-95W minimum for fluid 1080p, and 115W-140W+ TGP for native 1440p high-refresh raiding.
• Cooling Thermals: Dual-fan cooling pads and aggressive fan curves are strongly advised to keep mobile CPU and GPU temps below 85°C during extended extraction runs.
• C P U Power Limits: A sustained PL1 power threshold of 45W+ is recommended for managing 24+ player and machine netcode simulations alongside Unreal Engine 5 world partition streaming.
• M U X Switch Optimus: Bypassing hybrid graphics via a discrete MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus provides a 12-18% boost to 1% low framerates in dense firefights.

• G P U T G P: Maximum TGP for the laptop's GPU is essential to handle the advanced graphical features of Unreal Engine 5 and maintain high framerates.
• Cooling Thermals: The game's visually rich world and intense, effects-heavy combat will require a laptop with a cutting-edge cooling solution to prevent thermal throttling.
• C P U Power Limits: A powerful multi-core mobile CPU will be critical for handling the complex enemy AI and physics-based combat.
• M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is a critical feature for reducing latency and ensuring the best possible performance in a fast-paced FPS.