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ARC Raiders’ Headwinds update (1.13.0) arrived on January 27, 2026. Its headline additions were an opt-in Solo vs Squads queue for level 40+ solo players, the five-step Trophy Display project, and Bird City, a weekly rotating condition for Buried City. The monthly update rhythm shown in the January–April roadmap was later replaced: on May 13, Embark said major updates would arrive twice a year, while smaller live updates and operations would continue.
Headwinds patch 1.13.0: release date and headline features
Embark dated the official Headwinds patch notes January 27, 2026. The update’s three most prominent additions changed matchmaking, progression, and the Buried City map rotation.
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Solo vs Squads
Solo Raiders at level 40 or above could opt into the Squads queue. The notes specify a 20% end-of-round XP bonus whether the solo player extracted successfully or was defeated. This is an XP reward for using the option, not a promise of easier encounters.
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Trophy Display is an in-game, five-step project, not a physical trophy. Players hunt increasingly dangerous ARC groups and submit their parts. The listed rewards include blueprints and Raider Tokens; completing all five steps also awards a Howl emote, a guitar, and 300,000 Coins. The project had no fixed end date and was not affected by Expedition resets, according to the patch notes.
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Bird City
Bird City is a permanent condition for Buried City that cycles in and out of the map rotation weekly. Chimney nests can contain loot. The condition also brings more bird traps and ziplines, increasing rooftop activity alongside flying ARC and nearby players. It is a map condition rather than a separate map.
Other changes in Headwinds
Beyond the headline additions, update 1.13.0 added two types of Epic Augments and seven quests. The notes also list open parties and squadmate invitations, achievement fixes, a Stella Montis Seed Vault extract fix, mouse smoothing, gamepad rebinding, ARC traversal changes, and other gameplay, audio, and general fixes. For the complete item-by-item list, see Embark’s official 1.13.0 notes.
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- NON-SLIP BASE — The durable, non-slip rubber base is designed to eliminate unwanted movement and provide a solid platform for competitive gaming
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Embark’s January 26 Headwinds announcement previewed Solo vs Squads, Trophy Display, Bird City, and two cosmetic sets. The patch notes published the following day provide the detailed feature rules.
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Embark’s January 23 ARC Raiders Roadmap: January – April 2026 described the period as “Escalation” and said the studio was aiming for a content update every month. It outlined broad types of planned content, including enemies, maps, map conditions, and other changes, without promising every detail in advance. Embark explicitly cautioned that the roadmap reflected current plans and could change.
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How the update schedule changed
The January roadmap is historical context, not the current major-update schedule. On May 13, Executive Producer Aleksander Grøndal announced that major updates would instead arrive twice a year, with a larger scale and the aim of changing how the game plays. He also said the team would continue live updates, balance and bug fixes, store updates, and player events between major releases. The announcement is in Embark’s May 13 development update.
| Announcement | Schedule described | What it covered |
|---|---|---|
| January 23, 2026 roadmap | Aimed for a content update every month; explicitly subject to change. | Broad planned content types for January through April, including enemies, maps, and map conditions. |
| May 13, 2026 development update | Major updates twice a year. | Larger, more transformative major releases, with live updates, balance and bug fixes, store updates, and player events continuing. |
What Embark had announced for October
In a September 8 notice about Live Update 1.45.0, Embark said it was the last live update before October 8, while also noting that a smaller update was planned before then. The notice discussed Frozen Trail, a Raider Decks rework, and retiring Cred with the October update; remaining Cred was to expire then. This was a dated near-term notice, not confirmation of a schedule beyond it. Read the September 8 Live Update 1.45.0 notice for its original wording.
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Where to check for later updates
The October 8 Frozen Trail notice is the latest relevant forward-looking announcement covered here, dated September 8, 2026. It does not establish release dates after October 8. For later plans, consult Embark’s official news page rather than treating the January monthly roadmap as a current promise.
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