ARC Raiders is revisiting a version of itself it left behind.
ARC Raiders is about to test what its extraction loop looks like without the constant threat of PvP. Developer Embark Studios announced on Friday (25 September) that ARC Raiders will test a PvE matchmaking toggle from 13 to 20 October, giving players the option to enter sessions with zero player-to-player damage and focus entirely on fighting ARC alongside other Raiders.
In a blog post detailing the test, Embark said 51% of surveyed players have expressed interest in a dedicated PvE option, while its own player data shows a growing chunk of the community already prefers playing cooperatively and avoiding hostile encounters wherever possible.
The test is temporary, but it could end up answering a much bigger question for ARC Raiders: how much of its playerbase actually wants the PvP part of its PvPvE extraction formula?
How will the ARC Raiders PvE mode work?
During the test, players will be able to switch between ARC Raiders' standard PvPvE matchmaking and a separate PvE experience. In PvE sessions, Raiders cannot damage each other. Solos, duos, and trios will still be matched into the same sessions, but everyone will effectively be sharing the map against the ARC threat instead of wondering whether the stranger crouching politely in the distance is about to put a round through their helmet.
The PvE experience is intended to let players scavenge, complete quests, and explore with less pressure from hostile Raiders, while keeping some of the danger that comes from ARC itself. There are trade-offs: overall loot value will be lower in PvE, while downed players will also need to be careful around ARC enemies. ARC may reacquire a downed Raider who continues crawling, although staying still should cause them to lose interest.
Some of ARC Raiders' higher-tension conditions will also be left out entirely. Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate, and Frigate will not be available in the PvE matchmaking test because they depend heavily on the uncertainty of encountering other players. PvE sessions will also have no effect on a player's PvPvE matchmaking rating.
Why is ARC Raiders testing a PvE mode?
The push for a PvE option is coming directly from how different groups of players have been approaching ARC Raiders since launch.
Embark divides the player population into three groups: 37% are "Friendly co-op" players, 34% are "Pure PvP", and 27% fall somewhere in between. The friendly group has also grown consistently since launch.
More than 70% of those players want fewer hostile encounters, while even 40% of the PvP group said the same. Across the surveyed playerbase, 51% expressed interest in a dedicated PvE option. The studio has seen "a large and growing group of Raiders who come to the Rust Belt for the co-op and the ARC, not fighting with other Raiders", alongside frustration from some players around ratting and camping.
That behaviour has already been visible in the wild. The Guardian reported in April that players were teaming up against ARC, sharing supplies with strangers, and using proximity chat to negotiate peaceful encounters. Embark design lead Virgil Watkins Grøndal also recalled one Matriarch encounter where players stopped fighting each other and instead joined forces against the machine within seconds.
The PvE toggle takes that existing side of ARC Raiders and gives it its own matchmaking option, removing the possibility that a friendly encounter suddenly turns into a firefight.
ARC Raiders is returning to an idea Embark originally abandoned
There is another layer to the experiment: ARC Raiders started life as a PvE game. The project was originally envisioned seven years ago as "a raid-based PvE Co-op game with looting mechanics". That version eventually ran into development problems, leading Embark to reset the project into the high-tension PvPvE extraction game that eventually launched.
Now, after building the game around player uncertainty and the threat of hostile Raiders, the studio is cautiously circling back to the concept it left behind.
"The first, unlaunched iteration of ARC Raiders was conceived as a PvE game, and we have been hesitant to return to that concept," the blog reads, with Embark acknowledging that a PvE matchmaking option could reduce some of the tension the game was built around.
If enough players move into PvE, matchmaking and queue times could take a hit in the standard mode, particularly in lower-population regions and during quieter hours. The player economy is another concern, with PvE players expected to extract more often and earn more value. To account for that during the test, PvPvE sessions will receive slightly higher baseline loot values.
There is no guarantee the experiment will stick around. "It's possible that this will not work," Embark said. "This test is not a promise that there will be a PvE mode in the future, but take this as an indication that we are seriously considering it."
Once the test ends on 20 October, the toggle will be removed and normal matchmaking will return while Embark reviews player feedback and data.
