Embark Studios has paused the Expedition system in ARC Raiders and plans to make significant adjustments. The system is not expected to return until early 2027, and the studio is considering removing it entirely, with no final decision made yet.
Expeditions are a reset mechanism designed for high-level players, similar to Prestige in Call of Duty. Players must invest time and resources into the "Caravan," ultimately causing their character to permanently leave the Rust Belt within the game's lore; in practice, this resets levels, skills, and inventory, while granting certain special benefits to the new character.
This Expedition requires significant player investment, but some players feel the rewards are relatively limited. When Embark announced the pause in August, they stated that issues raised by players—such as tight departure deadlines, reward structures, and barriers to entry for new players—could not be resolved with minor tweaks, necessitating larger-scale changes to the system.
Aleksander Grøndal, Executive Producer of ARC Raiders, stated that the current system is not perfect and the team wants to make major changes. He also confirmed that completely removing Expeditions is an option under discussion, as the development team continues to evaluate next steps.
The fifth Expedition was scheduled to launch in late September, after which the system will be paused until revamps are complete or it is officially cancelled. Embark will not take further action before the major "Frozen Path" update in October, and there is no set date for a final decision on whether the Expedition system will remain.