Short answer: Arc Raiders update 1.36.0 is live today, 7 July, and the headline everyone will lead with is the THE FINALS crossover. Ignore that for a second, because the change that actually matters is matchmaking. Solo, duo and trio are now tracked separately, so playing alone no longer quietly shoves you into the same pool as full squads. That, plus Expedition 4, a much-needed ARC Turbine loot boost and a pile of fixes, is what dropped. Here is the honest run-down.
The change that matters: solo, duo and trio matchmaking are now split
Every patch has a headline the marketing wants you to look at, and then it has the line buried in the notes that actually changes how the game feels. In 1.36, that line is the matchmaking rework.
According to Embark’s patch notes, the game now tracks your playstyle separately for solo, duo and trio. Before this, your squad composition affected matchmaking across all sizes, which is a polite way of saying that dropping in on your own did not always mean facing other people on their own. Now each mode operates independently. You can go and do a slow, careful solo run one match and jump into a PvP-focused trio the next, and the system treats them as the two completely different games they are, with no weird adjustment period in between.
I am not going to oversell it, because Embark has not published a full ranked-style breakdown of how the pools now weight. But for the way I actually play Arc Raiders, and the way a lot of you tell me you play it, this is the single most welcome change in months. The whole appeal of the game for me is that you can treat it as a tense solo PvE looter and largely dodge the sweat, and anything that makes a solo drop feel like a solo drop rather than a trio ambush waiting to happen is a win. If you want my full case for playing it this way, I laid it out in can you play Arc Raiders solo and PvE.
The THE FINALS crossover: free cosmetics, no strings
Now the bit the trailers care about. Arc Raiders and Embark’s other game, THE FINALS, are running a crossover event from 9 July to 30 July.
The loop is simple. You complete a set of Contracts over in THE FINALS, and that unlocks the Azimuth outfit and the Archeologist backpack in Arc Raiders. Once that window closes, the promotion reverses, so playing Arc Raiders then earns you rewards back in THE FINALS. If you own both games it is basically free stuff for playing games you were going to play anyway. If you do not own THE FINALS, you lose nothing by skipping it. No FOMO, no paywall, just a nudge between two of the studio’s titles.
That is the right way to do a crossover, honestly. It is cosmetics, it is optional, and it does not touch the loot economy or the balance. Compare that to the kind of crossover that shoves a licensed operator and a battle pass down your throat, and this one is refreshingly low-key.
Expedition 4 and Trials Season 5 are live
The bigger reason to actually boot the game up this week is the fresh progression track.
The Fourth Expedition departure window opened on 7 July and runs to 21 July, and completing it unlocks the first step of the Zenith Outfit. Alongside it, Trials Season 5 kicks off with the Scorta Outfit to chase. So between the Expedition, the Trials season and the crossover, there are three separate cosmetic tracks running at once, which is plenty to structure your sessions around.
I broke down the Expedition itself, the Forgotten Relics event that has been running with it, and the loot and anti-cheat changes that came before this, in the Fourth Expedition and Forgotten Relics explainer. This is the moment it all actually goes live rather than just being announced.
The ARC Turbine is finally worth killing
Here is a small change that PvE players will feel straight away. Embark has significantly increased the loot dropped by the ARC Turbine, off the back of feedback that the reward was pitifully low compared to how much effort and risk it takes to bring one down. If you have ever committed to a Turbine fight, burned half your kit, and walked away with scraps, this one is for you. Take one down now and it should actually be worth the ammo.
A few other economy and quality-of-life tweaks landed with it:
| Change | What it does |
|---|---|
| ARC Turbine loot boost | Turbines now drop meaningfully more, matching the effort to kill them |
| Dropped weapons show mods | Weapons now display their installed mods when dropped, so you can see what you are picking up |
| Shelf priority | Higher-value items get priority on shelf display over stacked lower-value ones |
| Courier fix | ARC Turbine parts no longer drop from Couriers |
| Store redesign | A reworked store, plus a new Triumph Set added |
None of these are headline features, but together they are the sort of friction-removal that makes a looter feel less like admin and more like a game.
The honest caveats
I am not going to pretend it all landed clean. Two things are worth flagging.
First, the rollout was messy on Xbox. Update 1.36.0 went live early on Xbox ahead of its planned time, which caused some matchmaking issues, and Embark acknowledged it, according to Twisted Voxel. PlayStation 5 and PC got it on schedule on 7 July. If your update arrived at a weird time or your first few matches felt off, that is likely why.
Second, Embark has been upfront about the known issues shipping with 1.36, including FPS drops on PC, crashes on Xbox Series S, and some animation glitches. On the fair-play side, Denuvo Anti-Cheat is now fully enforced and there is ongoing work on duplication exploits, with an experimental expansion of the “No Free Loadout” system under review. Anti-cheat that actually bites is a good thing in this genre, but if you are on a Series S in particular, go in with your expectations set.
My take
This is a quietly strong patch dressed up as a crossover event. The crossover is fine, the cosmetics are a nice freebie, but the matchmaking split is the change I would have led the announcement with, because it is the one that changes how the game feels to play alone. Pair that with a Turbine that finally pays out and a fresh Expedition to grind, and this is the best the game has felt to drop into casually in a while.
It also fits the bigger picture I wrote about a few days ago. The monthly-update era is over, and Embark has moved to two big drops a year with a live team keeping things ticking in between. Update 1.36 is exactly what that “in between” is supposed to look like: no new map, no huge system, just events, fixes and one genuinely meaningful quality-of-life change. If it keeps landing at this level, the long wait for the October whale is a lot more bearable. I explained that whole shift in when is the next Arc Raiders update.
The bottom line
Arc Raiders update 1.36.0 is live on 7 July. The real news is separate solo, duo and trio matchmaking, which makes playing alone feel fairer. On top of that you get the THE FINALS crossover from 9 to 30 July for free cosmetics, Expedition 4 and Trials Season 5 to grind, a proper ARC Turbine loot boost, and a batch of fixes, with a few known issues to keep an eye on. If you are still deciding whether the game is for you at all, start with is Arc Raiders worth it in 2026, and if you want to know how it stacks up against its big rival, I put them head to head in Arc Raiders vs Marathon.
Arc RaidersEmbark Studiosextraction shooterpatch notessolo PvETHE FINALS
FAQ
What is in Arc Raiders update 1.36?
Update 1.36.0 brings separate matchmaking tracking for solo, duo and trio, a crossover event with THE FINALS, Expedition 4 and Trials Season 5, a big loot boost to the ARC Turbine, a store redesign, and a stack of bug and economy fixes. Denuvo Anti-Cheat is now fully enforced. The matchmaking change is the one that actually matters for how the game plays.
When does the Arc Raiders and THE FINALS crossover start and end?
The crossover event runs from 9 July to 30 July 2026. You complete a set of Contracts in THE FINALS to unlock the Azimuth outfit and the Archeologist backpack in Arc Raiders, and after that window the promotion reverses so playing Arc Raiders earns you rewards in THE FINALS. It is free cosmetics for people who own both, and safe to ignore if you do not.
Does Arc Raiders now have separate matchmaking for solo, duo and trio?
Yes, and this is the real story of 1.36. Each playstyle is now tracked independently for matchmaking, where before your squad composition affected matchmaking across all sizes. In plain terms, dropping in solo puts you against the solo pool rather than lumping you in with people running full trios, so a quiet solo run and a sweaty trio match are treated as the different things they are.
Is Expedition 4 live in Arc Raiders?
Yes. The Fourth Expedition departure window opened on 7 July and runs to 21 July, and completing it unlocks the first step of the Zenith Outfit. Trials Season 5 lands alongside it with the Scorta Outfit. If you want the full breakdown of the Expedition and the Forgotten Relics event that has been running with it, I covered that separately.
Did the Arc Raiders 1.36 update come out early?
On Xbox, yes. Update 1.36.0 went live early on Xbox ahead of its planned time, which caused some matchmaking wobble, and Embark acknowledged it. PlayStation 5 and PC got it on schedule on 7 July. If you saw the update land before your mates on other platforms, that is why.
Is now a good time to jump into Arc Raiders?
It is a genuinely good moment. Expedition 4 and Trials Season 5 are fresh, the ARC Turbine is finally worth killing, and the new matchmaking makes solo play feel fairer, which is exactly how I play it. The honest caveats are the known issues Embark has flagged, including FPS drops on PC and crashes on Xbox Series S, so temper expectations if you are on lower-end hardware.
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