ARC Raiders has revealed what to expect from its Headwinds update, hitting the game tomorrow, and the pickings are kind of slim compared to what players may have been expecting.
Headwinds is the first of four monthly updates and content drops announced for ARC Raiders, culminating in a new map coming in April. But for January, the content drop is not adding very much to the core gameplay, and players are none too pleased.
The main addition is a Solo vs. Squads matchmaking option. Available only for players level 40 and above, this option will allow lone wolves to queue into matches where they will fight against three-person squads “for higher risk and higher XP.” And this has many players wondering “why”?
“Sirs, nobody, and I mean nobody asked for this,” one Twitter/X user said, while another called it “disappointing.” Another complained that the one-vs-three matchmaking “is actually for streamers to get more content and not for the rest of the community to actually play.”
Beyond that, a Trophy Display Project is included in the update, too, where players will be able to build a trophy case made of harvested ARC parts, “progress through the levels, and unlock valuable items in the process.” The final addition, other than a new cosmetic set in the store, is a new map condition called “Bird City.” More birds will appear in the sky to mark areas with “valuable loot.” But that’s about it.
While ARC Raiders is still holding strong with players logging in daily, competition is on the way with games like Marathon and even today’s launch of Highguard looking to grab attention in the multiplayer shooter space, so I can’t help but wonder if this update will be enough to do that.
While this first update is admittedly light, the 2026 roadmap for ARC Raiders does have some more interesting things on the horizon, including new ARC enemies, map updates, and April’s “Even Tides” update bringing a new map.
