Arc Raiders PvE Mode: Embark Weighs Options After Matchmaking Test
Embark is reviewing feedback from Arc Raiders’ week-long PvE matchmaking test before deciding whether a mode will return and what it should offer.
Arc Raiders may make room for players who want to explore its world without facing other Raiders, but Embark Studios hasn’t decided what that experience should be. After a week-long PvE matchmaking test, the studio is reviewing player feedback and weighing whether a lasting mode can serve those players without changing the game’s PvPvE identity.
That leaves several possible directions on the table. A separate, more relaxed option could give players a lower-pressure way to spend time in the game. A mode built around AI opponents could offer a focused combat challenge, while a full PvE experience would be a larger commitment. Embark says it first needs to work out which of those possibilities players actually want.
Speaking to MP1st after the test, executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said the studio is still discussing what the results mean. “Now that we've concluded the PvE matchmaking toggle test, we're doing a deep dive into what that means,” he said. “Of course, we were a bit skeptical about bringing such a mode to the game for historical reasons, but now we need to discuss what we want to do going forward.”
A divided response, and a question of identity
The test exposed a tension at the center of the idea. Some players want to visit the extraction shooter’s world without worrying about hostile Raiders. Others see player-versus-player encounters as a defining part of what makes Arc Raiders compelling, and worry that taking them away would weaken the experience.
That split makes the design question bigger than simply adding a matchmaking toggle. If a new option changes the pressure and risks of a raid, it may also change what players expect from the game. Embark needs to decide whether PvE belongs as a side activity alongside the existing format or as a distinct experience with its own purpose.
Grøndal said the test might point to a broader range of player preferences. “Perhaps this is more a signal that the game could support more player types, and we need to figure out how to support that,” he said. “The challenge, of course, is how we do that without undermining the premise of the game itself.”
That concern has a particular history here: Arc Raiders began as a cooperative PvE looter before shifting into the PvPvE extraction shooter players know today. A PvE option would revisit part of the game’s earlier direction, but Embark hasn’t said that it plans to restore that original concept wholesale.
What could a PvE mode offer?
Grøndal outlined three broad possibilities in the interview. One is a calmer mode to play between more intense PvPvE rounds. Another would test players against AI enemies. The third would be a full PvE experience. “These are some of the questions we need to dig into before we decide how to go forward,” he said.
Those options answer different needs. A relaxed side mode could give players a way to spend time in Arc Raiders’ world while reducing the threat of encounters with other players. An AI-focused challenge could make combat the main attraction, while still offering a clear test of skill. A full PvE experience would ask Embark to consider how that mode fits alongside the main game over the long term.
These are design possibilities raised in the interview, not confirmed plans. Embark hasn’t announced which approach it favors, whether the matchmaking option will return, or when it expects to make a decision. For now, the next step is understanding what players hoped to get from the test and whether one mode can meet those expectations without pulling Arc Raiders away from its current premise.
That decision also matters for future updates. Supporting distinct ways to play can affect how a studio plans content across modes, especially when players want different kinds of encounters. Embark’s The Frozen Trail is one of the game’s largest content offerings so far, but the studio hasn’t connected it to a future PvE plan.
For players, the test has opened a discussion rather than settled it. Embark is considering whether PvE should be a low-pressure alternative, an AI combat challenge, or a fuller mode, and its answer will determine how much space that play style gets in Arc Raiders.
