ARC Raiders PvE test drew more than 30 million plays
Embark says ARC Raiders' PvE matchmaking test drew more than 30 million plays, but the studio is still weighing its future.
ARC Raiders developer Embark Studios says its recent player-versus-environment matchmaking test drew more than 30 million plays between 13 and 20 October. The test gave players a way to enter matches without taking damage from other players, while leaving the wider extraction-shooter structure intact. Embark says it is now weighing the results rather than promising that the mode will become permanent.1
What the test changed
ARC Raiders is built around trips to a dangerous surface, where players gather valuable materials before trying to return to the underground settlement of Speranza. Its usual PvPvE format puts machine enemies and rival Raiders in the same space. The trial added a “PvE only” option during map selection, so players could focus on exploration and machine fights without being attacked by human opponents.1
The protected format was not simply a peaceful version of every existing match. Embark reduced the overall value of loot in PvE matches, and attacks between players dealt no damage. That kept the test separate from the main risk-and-reward loop while giving the studio data about how many people wanted a less confrontational way to play.2
Why Embark has not made it permanent yet
The headline figure shows substantial interest, but it does not by itself settle the design question. Embark describes the test as polarising and says it will combine the play data with player feedback before deciding what happens next.1 A permanent PvE queue could change the population and player mix of the standard PvPvE mode, while also making the game more welcoming to people who prefer co-operative scavenging.
The studio has also said that some problems became visible during the trial. Players could arrive at a defeated large machine after the fight and search for loot without contributing, while others waited near locked rooms for someone else to do the unlocking. Those behaviours do not prove the mode cannot work, but they suggest that a permanent version would need its own balance and reward rules rather than a simple switch being left on.
Embark plans to share more information in November, after further analysis and a survey sent to sampled players from 22 October. Until then, the 30-million-plus figure is best read as evidence of demand for a different kind of ARC Raiders session, not confirmation that a permanent PvE mode is on the way.1
Our opinion
A PvE option looks like a sensible experiment for ARC Raiders because it tests a real audience need without immediately rewriting the main game. The trial’s popularity is encouraging, but Embark is right to study how a permanent queue would affect loot, matchmaking and the health of the PvPvE mode first. The November update should tell us whether this was a successful side path or a format that needs a deeper redesign.