ARC Raiders gets a critical update with Riven Tides map

For the second time in six months, Embark Studios is releasing tomorrow a major ARC Raiders update with a brand new map, dubbed Riven Tides.

The content update for the extraction adventure ARC Raiders. Launching tomorrow, April 28, the update expands the world of the Rust Belt. It includes the new coastal Riven Tides map, new ARC Turbine, new minor map condition, alongside a new player event, a player project, and quality of life updates.

ARC Raiders hit a peak of 481,000 concurrent players on Steam on November 16, but it has steadily sunk to 72,000 concurrent players now. At $40 a copy, the game has sold 12.4 million copies to date, giving South Korea’s Nexon a rare major hit in the Western markets. The gross revenue for the game is about $560 million. Nexon’s studio, Embark Studios, made the game with a small team over six years.

ARC Raiders has a new map: Riven Tides. Source: Embark Studios ARC Raiders has emergent gameplay, with a different experience for every extraction mission. But hardcore players have complained about finishing most of the available content, hitting the level cap of 75 long ago. (I’m at 66 after 150 hours of gameplay).

And in the last update, Embark got rid of the protections for casual players, which befuddled me as one of them. In that update, Embark got rid of aggression-based matchmaking, which meant that it would mix player killers with peaceful players. And in recent gameplay, it showed. As a peaceful player, I could hail them as “friendly” through the verbal proximity chat, and the players would respond in kind. But now, there’s often deception followed by an ambush.

I got killed a half dozen times since the update and got shot at many times more. Instead of treating other players peacefully, I treat them with suspicion. This week, for instance, I was on a rooftop and a silent player took a zipline right to my spot. Rather than greet the player, I pulled out my Anvil and shot the player, as I just don’t trust other players now.

I thought about quitting the game, as others have, but I have stayed with it. After all, I know that the team behind the game was small and they’re working hard to keep up with the demand for new content.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ps42Cyz2aI?feature=oembed ARC Raiders’ Riven Tides will be available on April 28, 2026 at no additional cost to all players on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and NVIDIA GeForce NOW for Standard and Deluxe editions.

You can watch the ARC Raiders’ Riven Tides launch trailer via YouTube HERE

ARC Raiders gets a critical update with Riven Tides map. Source: Embark Studios Raiders are now cleared to return to the long-lost coastline of the Rust Belt in the new Riven Tides map. Along this stretch of shore, the fading luxury of the Panorama Azzurro Resort meets the hard lines of a disused dockyard, where old Exodus structures still stand unmoved against the waves.

The Riven Tides map features an exclusive minor map condition called Beachcombing, where Raiders can use the Dockmaster’s Detector to detect and uncover loot hidden under the sand along the coast. 

New ARC Threat

Riven Tides introduces the ARC Turbine, a formidable, new flying ARC equipped with defensive measures to deter Raiders from approaching. Raiders will need to track and hunt the ARC Turbine in order to fight it and recover its loot. 

Limited time event: Last Resort

The Last Resort event runs from April 28 through May 25, allowing players to unlock rewards through earning Merits. Merits are automatically converted from XP earned by playing on any map, but can also be earned from finding miniature Ship Models, which can be found throughout the world. Earning Merits allows the player to unlock 3 pages of rewards, which includes 250 Raider Tokens, Junior Outfit, Hydrologist backpack and more.

Avian Alarm project

Avian Alarm is a 5-stage Raider project in which Raiders will build Bird Cages as a “security system” to sense tremors and atmospheric changes. Rewards include 250 Raider Tokens, Dockmaster’s Detector (used in Beachcombing Map Condition), Bird House backpack attachment and more.

New Expedition window open

Embark Studios made ARC Raiders in six years with a small team. Source: Embark Studios Adding a plethora of new features, the new Expedition window will open on April 28, giving Raiders 13 days to sign up and complete the requirements and before the May 11 deadline. Instead of gathering stash value and coins, players will now need to deal damage to get all 5 skill points.

Players will receive the following:

• 5 permanent Skill Points on top of those obtained during the previous Expedition window
  • Players who did not receive the full 5 skill points during their previous Expedition will be able to catch up during their next Expedition to receive additional skill points
• Additional Permanent Stash Space – Players will be rewarded with 12 additional stash spaces per expedition
• Evolution of the Patchwork outfit – A new cosmetic that includes additional toggles and color variation
• New Scrappy outfit

This expedition also introduces the new ‘Last Call’ feature, offering players who missed signing up during the Expedition Window the chance to participate. The damage requirement is not needed for this option although no skill points will be granted.

PS5 Pro update

I’m not sure how these birds will help you survive in ARC Raiders. Source: Embark Studios Riven Tides brings the new upgraded PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) upscaler for PS5 Pro. Players will experience sharper visuals, making environments appear cleaner and more stable, with better reconstruction of fine details.

The ARC Raiders Riven Tides Update launches on April 28, 2026, and will be available at no additional cost to all players. Additional details can be found on the official ARC Raiders news page HERE.



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