The Shared Watch Event in Arc Raiders – Team up with Strangers!

With the second Expedition looming and a big update slated for the end of the month, Embark Studios is rolling out some new content to help players get ready for what’s next. Tomorrow, February 10, 2026, we’re getting an update that brings The Shared Watch Event to ARC Raiders – a new cooperative that will encourage you to team up with strangers, work together to bring down the ARC machines and earn rewards in the process!

The Shared Watch Event in ARC Raiders: Working Together Against the Machines

Running from February 10 through February 24, the Shared Watch Event is aimed at players who want to spend more time fighting machines and less time fighting each other. ARC Raiders has always had that tension between players, but this event puts the focus on teaming up against the ARC threat.

Here’s how it works: You earn Merits to move up the event’s reward track. The rewards will include useful items, Raider Tokens, and a new baseball-themed cosmetic set called “Slugger.”

The event seems to be “PvE-focused” and will encourage players to work together to take down big ARC units instead of shooting at each other. Before dropping in, make sure to plan out your Loadout for the Shared Watch event to fight ARCs together. That said, while some Raiders speculate that this might be a full on PVE-mode event, we are not so sure – Embark Studios know the importance of keeping the tensions high at all times, so we think there will still be room for betrayal, ratting and general PVP shenanigans!

Cold Snap Is Back

Cold Snap, the freezing weather condition, is coming back to the regular map rotation starting tomorrow. It was originally a winter seasonal thing, but looks like it will be back again for a while, which adds another survival element to deal with every time you go Topside.

When Cold Snap is active, you need to watch your exposure to avoid freezing. This means you’ll have to move carefully between indoor areas to stay warm. You can use our Interactive Maps to plan your movement between warm buildings and stay alive. On the upside, Cold Snap is another 2X Major Map Condition, meaning that you will earn Double Trial Points on these maps and we might even see some Winter-themed Weekly Trials return into to the rotation!

The interesting part is what happens when you combine this with the Shared Watch event. You might see rival squads ending up in the same building, trying to stay warm while fighting off waves of ARC machines together.

What’s Coming After: The Shrouded Sky Update

Based on the timing of these events, we’re expecting a major update to drop around February 24th when the Shared Watch Event wraps up. Embark has teased an update called “Shrouded Sky” on their new Roadmap, and one of the upcoming features is a new “ARC Threat”.

Considering the Sky-themed name of the update, we speculate that this new ARC will be flying ARC (since the previous new units we’ve seen were both ground based – the Shredder and the Matriarch).

Along with the new aerial threat, players are anticipating a new Major Map Condition, another Raider Deck to unlock, yet another new Player Project and a lot more! We’ll have to wait and see what Embark has planned, but the community is already speculating about whether we’ll need new strategies or equipment to deal with threats coming from above.

Getting Ready for the Second Expedition

Embark has been paying attention to player complaints about how expensive the first reset was. For the Second Expedition (sign-ups start February 25, launches March 1), they’ve made it much easier to hit the goals.

What’s Changed:

• The total stash value you need for the maximum 5 bonus skill points is now 3,000,000 coins, down from 5 million. That breaks down to 600,000 coins per skill point.
• They’ve also added a catch-up system. If you missed earning skill points during the first Expedition, you can now buy them back at a discounted rate of 300,000 per point.
• Players who go on back-to-back expeditions will get stacking temporary buffs for XP, Materials, and Repair value that get better each time.

Event Schedule including The Shared Watch in ARC Raiders

More ARC Raiders Resources

Whether you are farming Merits or freezing in a Cold Snap, we have the tools to help you survive. Check out our guide on How to find the Snaphook Blueprint to improve your vertical mobility, or browse our How to Find Every Blueprint in Arc Raiders guide.

Want to discuss event strategies or find a squad for the Shared Watch Event? Join our Discord community to chat about ARC Raiders and other games with passionate Raiders!