Content update

Frozen Trail Update

Coming October 8

–days––hrs––min

Everything Embark has confirmed about the update, and nothing they haven't. Checked against Embark's own posts, press release, First Look video and the developers' Q&A.

The map

Pendola Pass, official Embark art

New map

Pendola Pass

An old Italian village and Exodus transport hub beyond the peaks around the Rust Belt: a supermarket, a town square, an observatory and a buried train depot. The reason to go is a fallen Emperor, one of the giant ARC walkers, with rare technology inside. Flash freezes can sweep the valley at any time; Avalanche Shelters open as one approaches and hold loot, but draw other Raiders. A new extraction, the Ballistic Gondola, has to be called in and holds only three Raiders. You can go inside the fallen Emperor, and Pendola Pass tries dynamic loot zones, where the high-value areas change between matches (Sept 25 Q&A).

New conditions

Redirection card, picturing a Raider in a snowy Pendola Pass street

New map condition

Redirection

A new condition, only on Pendola Pass, and separate from the Harvester event the Queen guards. A Transmitter lets you pull what Embark calls Harvester Payloads, valuable ARC loot, away from the Collector and toward you. It draws ARC and rival Raiders, so you have to clear and hold the area to claim it. A developer said "the Collector" is the team's name for the fallen Emperor (Sept 25 Q&A).

Frigate card, picturing the fallen Emperor it patrols (from Embark's First Look video)

Major condition

Frigate

One of ARC's largest vessels, sent to patrol after the Emperor fell. Embark counts it among the major conditions, with Night Raids and Locked Gate. An end-game challenge: find a way aboard, work through its passages, unlock paths and fight ARC new and old, hundreds of feet up. You can't destroy it; you sabotage it. Other squads are after the same prize.

New ARC

Bully, official Embark art

New ARC

Bully

A hulking ground ARC that gallops at you and never lets up. It can stumble and crash onto Raiders, knocking them down. Use cover, time your response, hit your shots.

Skulker, official Embark art

New ARC

Skulker

Small, fast and opportunistic. It waits at the edge of your vision, takes shots from cover, then slips away. Listen for it.

Hydra, official Embark art

New ARC

Hydra

A stationary turret in three stacked sections, able to target several squads at once. Found aboard the Frigate, and it respawns. Split its attention, find cover, and attack when the moment comes.

Outpost and progression

Outpost, official Embark art

Raider Den extension

Outpost

Your own space between the Rust Belt and the mountains. Build it from themed modules, craft furniture, and build and upgrade workbenches. You unlock it through a project (Sept 25 Q&A). Embark calls it the start of a feature they plan to grow; you can't walk around it at launch.

Research Workstation, from Embark's First Look video

New workstation

Research Workstation

A new bench in the Outpost. Research points found in the world let you choose what to research, including blueprints, instead of waiting for a drop. Fully upgraded, it unlocks Amplified Weapons.

Amplified Weapons, official Embark art

Weapon upgrade

Amplified Weapons

A fifth quality level for 15 guns at launch. It adds no stats on its own; it opens a branching set of upgrades that change how the gun behaves. Embark's examples: a fully automatic Burletta, a Renegade with a scope, a Rattler with incendiary rounds and a 64-round magazine. The core part, the Amplification Module (Mark I to V), drops from the Frigate and the fallen Emperor, and an Amplified gun taken off a downed Raider drops to 10% durability (Sept 25 Q&A).

Skill Tree card, picturing today's skill tree before the rework

Progression

Skill Tree rework

Some skills removed, new ones added. "Instead of unlocking everything, you have to select a few," executive producer Aleksander Grøndal told PC Gamer, and you can change your build later. All your skill points are refunded when the update lands, so you can spend them straight away in the new tree (Sept 25 Q&A).

Current skill tree →
Reward Pass card, picturing Embark's Frozen Trail key art

Replaces Raider Decks

Reward Pass

60 levels. The free track, earned by completing Feats, includes five outfits, new gameplay items and 200 Raider Tokens. The premium track costs 1,150 Raider Tokens, pays them back when you finish it, and is cosmetic only. Your old Raider Decks become a free Legacy Pass, so no progress is lost.

Quests and Trials card

Progression

Quests and Trials

New quests and an improved quest system with bonus XP for optional objectives. Trials Season 6 starts with the update.

Weekly Trials →

New gear

Stiletto, official Embark art

Battle rifle · light ammo

Stiletto

An early-game alternative to the Renegade. Cheap to craft and easy to wield, best at medium to long range. It can fire fast, but mashing the trigger costs accuracy.

Bantam, official Embark art

Revolver · heavy ammo

Bantam

A snub-nosed revolver with a unique hip-fire, effective against ARC and Raiders. Embark says both new guns' blueprints can be found "throughout the whole game", and both are uncommon (Sept 25 Q&A).

Grappling Hook, official Embark art

Gadget

Grappling Hook

A thrown rope that attaches to surfaces: climb hard-to-reach spots, abseil off buildings, swing across gaps.

Tether Launcher, official Embark art

Gadget

Tether Launcher

Connects two points with a wire, rooting them in place. Tie a Raider to an ARC and watch it drag them away.

Yank Grenade, from Embark's First Look video

Gadget

Yank Grenade

On detonation it pulls a nearby target in with violent force: smash flying ARC into the ground, or pull Raiders out of cover.

Camera, from Embark's First Look video

Gadget

Camera

Zoom, aperture, manual and automatic focus, and a selfie mode with its own emotes. Photos save to your Codex.

Harmonica, official Embark art

Instrument

Harmonica

A new instrument for Topside. Embark hasn't said yet how you get it.

Banjo, from Embark's First Look video

Instrument

Banjo

A new instrument for Topside. Embark says the Collector Set DLC is the only way to get its blueprint.

Weapon Stencils card, picturing the Dragon's Breath stencil from Embark's Collector Set store page

Cosmetic

Weapon Stencils

Re-skin a weapon without changing its stats. Once learned, a stencil works on any compatible weapon; a Raider who beats you can take your stencilled gun. Some come in the Reward Pass and some are found in the world (Sept 25 Q&A).

Dates

Oct 8
Frozen Trail launches, free, on Steam, Epic, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and GeForce NOW. Trials Season 6 starts.
Oct 13–20
Embark tests a PvE matchmaking toggle: no player damage, lower loot. Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and the Frigate are left out of it.
Early 2027
Expeditions return. The developers said they are aiming for the first quarter (Sept 25 Q&A).

What Embark hasn't said yet

Release time
Only the date is announced. Our countdown assumes 08:30 UTC, when Embark's updates usually land.
Amplified guns
Which 15 weapons get Amplification, beyond the Burletta, Renegade and Rattler, and what it costs.
Numbers
No damage, health, price or crafting numbers for anything new.
The Frigate
How you get aboard, which maps it appears on, and how often.
Redirection
What Harvester Payloads look like and where the Transmitter is.

On October 8 we post the patch notes as soon as Embark does, then re-check our weapon stats, crafting recipes and augments against them.

Sources: Embark: Frozen Trail First Look · Frozen Trail: First Look (video) · Embark: Reward Passes explained · Embark: PvE Toggle test (September 23, 2026), plus Embark's press release and developer interviews. Images © Embark Studios. Last checked September 29, 2026. We add details only when Embark publishes them.