ARC Raiders is embracing the holiday season with a snowy twist in its latest seasonal drop — the Winterfest / Cold Snap update, and it’s bringing cold-weather chaos, festive events, free rewards, and fresh progression loops for Raiders to dig into.
Snow Sweeps the Rust Belt This Winter
On 16 December 2025, Embark Studios unleashed the Cold Snap seasonal weather condition across Topside maps, turning familiar terrains into snow‑covered battlegrounds. Blizzard winds, frozen lakes, and reduced visibility force the Raiders to move carefully and rethink engagements during raids.
A new frostbite mechanic has been added as well — remaining outdoors too long without shelter or healing can gradually sap your health, adding a survival layer to every mission.
Festive Seasonal Events: Flickering Flames & Candleberry Banquet
The heart of Winterfest is the Flickering Flames event, a limited‑time seasonal track that players can progress simply by earning XP during raids. Completing event levels unlocks cosmetic items, rare loot, and Raider Tokens as rewards.
Alongside that, the Candleberry Banquet community project sends Raiders on a hunt for Candleberries and other seasonal items. These are exchanged for merits, cosmetics, gear, and tokens as players push through each of the project’s phases.
Holiday Gifts: Free Raiders Tokens & More
To celebrate the festive season and thank the community for a huge 2025, Embark is gifting all players 1,000 Raider Tokens simply for logging into the game and checking their in‑game mail before 13 January 2026. These tokens can be spent on cosmetics like outfits, weapon skins, and even fun items like new Scrappy chicken accessories.
New Raider Deck: Goalie (Free, Coming 26 December)
Adding to the seasonal goodies is the Goalie Raider Deck, a permanent progression deck launching on 26 December. It offers a series of unlocks — from themed cosmetics to bonus Raider Tokens — that players can earn at their own pace throughout the winter season.
The deck includes a hockey‑inspired outfit and other visually distinct items to help your Raider stand out while braving the Cold Snap conditions.
Quality‑of‑Life & Core Gameplay Changes
Winterfest isn’t just snow and cosmetics — the Cold Snap patch also introduced meaningful improvements to combat and progression. Players can now reset individual skill points without needing to run expensive expeditions, giving more freedom to experiment with builds.
Additional options like toggling Aim Down Sights, expanded Raider Tool customisation, and bug fixes across maps help polish the overall experience during this seasonal event.
Player Buzz and Community Reaction
The update has sparked chatter across the ARC Raiders community. Many players are delighted by the generous holiday token gift and boosted blueprint availability, though some adjustments to blueprint drop rates post‑release have also stirred conversation about progression balance.
Meanwhile, the seasonal events and snowy map conditions are being praised for adding variety to the usual PvPvE loops, giving both casual and competitive Raiders fresh goals over the holidays.
Winterfest Keeps the Season Warm
With winter weather mechanics, seasonal quests, free tokens, and new progression decks arriving alongside the Cold Snap update, ARC Raiders’ Winterfest has turned what could’ve been a simple holiday update into a fully featured seasonal experience. Whether you’re hunting Candleberries, hoarding tokens for cosmetics, or simply trying to survive through blizzards, there’s plenty for Raiders to dive into this festive season.
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