Arc Raiders Prepares For A Harsh Winter With The Cold Snap Event

Arc Raiders' Cold Snap arrives this week, introducing a limited-time winter event that reshapes how every raid unfolds across several major locations. The update adds a Snowfall map condition to Topside areas, replacing familiar environments with frozen terrain, reduced visibility, and a new health-draining threat that forces players to rethink how they move, fight, and extract.

Arc Raiders' Cold Snap will affect Dam Battlegrounds, Spaceport, Buried City, and Blue Gate, turning once open and navigable spaces into snow-covered zones where exposure itself becomes dangerous. Snowstorms roll through these areas dynamically, cutting sightlines and freezing bodies of water that previously acted as natural barriers or escape routes. The result is a surface that punishes prolonged movement and rewards careful planning.

“The update continues the game’s strong momentum with a limited-time winter event,” Embark said in a press release. “Dynamic snowfall conditions, new survival mechanics, expanded rewards, a seasonal Raider reset with the Expedition Project Raider, and the introduction of a second Raider Deck included directly in the base game.”— Embark Studios

The centerpiece of Arc Raiders' Cold Snap is frostbite, a new condition that slowly drains a player’s health while they remain exposed to the cold. Unlike enemy damage, frostbite accumulates passively, forcing raiders to balance outdoor travel with regular stops inside structures to recover. This changes the pacing of raids, as extended firefights or long sprints across open ground now carry an added cost beyond ammunition and healing items.

“Snowstorms sweep across Speranza as winter conditions take hold of multiple raid locations,” the studio added. “Snowfall reduces visibility, lakes freeze over, and the open surface becomes more dangerous than ever—turning every raid into a high-stakes survival run.”— Embark Studios

Shelter becomes a contested resource during the event. Buildings that once served as optional cover now act as lifelines, drawing multiple squads into confined spaces at regular intervals. This increases the likelihood of close-quarters encounters and raises the risk of ambushes, especially in areas already known for high player traffic. Loadout choices gain added weight, as players must account for sustained healing and team support rather than raw damage output alone.

Arc Raiders' Cold Snap launches on December 16 at 1:30 am PT, 4:30 am ET, 9:30 am GMT, and 10:30 am CET. The event will run until the morning of January 13, 2026. Alongside the environmental changes, the update introduces several progression systems tied directly to participation in the Snowfall condition.

One of those additions is the Flickering Flames event, a 25-level reward track that unlocks cosmetics and progression items. Access requires players to complete five raids under the new Snowfall condition, ensuring that rewards are tied directly to engagement with the winter mechanics rather than general play. Progression is further supported by the Candleberry Banquet project, a multi-stage activity that tasks players with scavenging candleberries and other unique items during Cold Snap raids.

The Candleberry Banquet unfolds across five stages, each revealing a new scene on a banquet table and completing stages grants cosmetic rewards, Raider Tokens, and Merits. Merits also contribute progress toward Flickering Flames, linking both systems into a single event loop rather than isolated objectives.

Cold Snap also expands the game’s progression framework with a seasonal Raider reset through the Expedition Project Raider. This reset is designed to align with the event’s increased difficulty, encouraging players to re-engage with long-term goals while navigating harsher conditions and higher player density around shelters and objectives.

A permanent addition arrives alongside the event in the form of a second Raider Deck. The Goalie Raider deck is included at no extra cost for players who purchased either edition of the game. It introduces new items and feats, as well as a hockey-themed outfit. Unlike the event-limited content, the Goalie deck will remain available indefinitely, allowing players to experiment with its mechanics well beyond the Cold Snap window.

Taken together, Arc Raiders' Cold Snap represents a shift toward environmental pressure as a primary source of tension. The snow does not replace existing threats but layers over them, narrowing options and increasing the consequences of small mistakes. With visibility reduced, safe routes constrained, and shelter contested, even routine extractions take on added risk during the event’s run.

Read also: Ahead of the winter rollout, Embark Studios deployed the December 1.6.0 patch, delivering stability fixes across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The update also refreshed the in-game store with new cosmetics, setting the stage for Cold Snap. Despite releasing alongside major shooters, ARC Raiders continues to post strong engagement on Steam, reaching over 300,000 concurrent players at peak and maintaining more than 100,000 active users at its lowest points, not including console audiences.