Arc Raiders’ upcoming update drops tomorrow, featuring a surprising twist for Buried City with its new bird-filled environment and a “long-term” trophy display that rewards players with rare blueprints.
The highly anticipated Arc Raiders Headwinds update drops on Tuesday, January 27, introducing an unexpected Buried City map condition, a new raider project focused on hunting formidable Arc foes, fresh party settings, and an intriguing matchmaking feature.
Headwinds marks the beginning of the 2026 roadmap unveiled earlier this month. The new matchmaking option, available exclusively to players at level 40 and above, is called “Solos vs Squads.” This allows solo players to jump into team queues for a more challenging experience (or a quick demise). It’s hard to see the appeal of this choice unless you’re looking to entertain a Twitch audience.
Alongside this, two new lobby settings are being introduced: open parties and squad invites. Open parties let friends join your lobby directly, while squad invites allow any party member, not just the leader, to bring in additional players.
The new map condition, replacing the anticipated Arc Raiders Toxic Swamp modifier seen in unreleased trials, is Bird City. This condition blankets Buried City with flocks of birds that drop treasure on rooftops and elevated spots, enticing players to seek loot in vertical combat scenarios and tighter encounters, as noted by Embark, subtly fueling the PvP aspect.
“The condition rewards bold traversal and situational awareness, offering high-risk, high-reward opportunities through rooftop routes and chimney caches that can contain valuable materials and rare trinkets, while increasing player proximity and encounter frequency across the map.”
“Headwinds is about opening up new ways for the community to engage with Arc Raiders and providing additional challenges for seasoned players,” says design director Virgil Watkins. “With the expanded matchmaking options, new map condition, and the new player project, we’re eager to see how Raiders adapt and experiment — and we can’t wait to witness the unexpected and entertaining moments the community will create as the update rolls out.”
The upcoming raider project, the Arc Trophy Display, is a long-term initiative aimed at rewarding PvE gameplay. “Hunt increasingly dangerous Arc enemies and submit their parts for progression rewards,” Embark explains. “Advancing through this project unlocks new items and cosmetics tied to player achievements, including rarer blueprints and Raider Tokens.”
A new, deterministic method for acquiring blueprints is fantastic news, and it’s thrilling to see more PvE incentives. Embark mentions that these updates will also include new quests and various gameplay and quality-of-life improvements, but we’ll have to wait for the patch notes on Tuesday for the full details.
