Topic / Subject
ARC Raiders is adding beards in the Feb. 24 “Shrouded Sky” update, with stubble for everyone and a full beard unlock tied to the free “Surgeon” Raider Deck.

TL;DR / Summary
ARC Raiders is adding beards in Shrouded Sky (Feb. 24): stubble for all, full beard via the free Surgeon Raider Deck, and more options sold in the store.

Key Details

• Per PC Gamer, Embark confirmed facial hair is coming to ARC Raiders in Shrouded Sky.
• PC Gamer reports all players get a stubble cosmetic.
• PC Gamer reports a full beard is unlockable via the free “Surgeon” Raider Deck.
• PC Gamer says additional facial-hair cosmetics (including moustache variants) will be sold in the in-game store.
• Embark’s Shrouded Sky blog lists Feb. 24 as the update date and frames it as part of a larger content drop.
• Store pricing and cosmetic rotation can change over time in live-service cadence.

Breakdown
Every live-service game eventually learns the same lesson: serious systems are great, but cosmetics are the stuff players obsess over daily.

Shrouded Sky already has big gameplay changes (storms, new threats, progression hooks), but facial hair is the “community morale” feature — low stakes, high visibility, instant screenshots.

Locking the full beard behind a free Raider Deck is also smart framing. It turns a fun cosmetic into a reason to engage with the new update loop, without feeling paywalled.

The only potential friction point is the store angle. Players usually don’t mind cosmetics being monetized… until pricing feels spicy or the rotation feels too FOMO-heavy.

What to Watch Next

• How fast people unlock the full beard through the Surgeon Deck.
• Store pricing and how often facial-hair cosmetics rotate.
• Whether Embark adds more customization depth (hair, scars, more face options) next.

Sources
PC Gamer — “Rejoice: Arc Raiders is getting beards”
ARC Raiders — “Shrouded Sky update: The hurricane strikes”
GamesRadar — “Arc Raiders is finally adding beards in the Shrouded Sky update…”

Comment
Be honest: would you grind a whole update track just to unlock a full beard cosmetic?