“We can’t ignore what the data is telling us.” That is Embark Studios’ own framing for why Arc Raiders is getting a PvE mode — and why that test is arriving a lot sooner than most players expected.
The Stockholm-based developer confirmed that a PvE matchmaking toggle will go live in Arc Raiders for a limited one-week window, giving the extraction shooter’s raider community their first proper taste of a mode without hostile players tearing up their scavenging runs. The announcement comes as part of a broader push from Embark to respond to the game’s post-launch community feedback, and it marks one of the most requested features since release.
When Does the PvE Test Run — and How Does It Work?
The test runs from 13 October to 20 October 2026, launching five days after the game’s Frozen Trail update arrives. During that window, players will see a toggle in the matchmaking screen allowing them to switch between the classic Arc Raiders PvPvE experience and a dedicated PvE session at will.
In PvE mode, player-to-player damage is completely disabled. Sessions will include solos, duos, and trios in the same instance, but the focus shifts entirely to raider co-operation against the ARC threat — the robotic enemy faction at the core of the game’s fiction. The session is described by Embark as one focused on “co-op social dynamics” rather than direct conflict with other players.
Crucially, your PvPvE matchmaking rating remains entirely unaffected by what happens during the PvE test. There is no penalty for switching to the PvE toggle and no risk to your standing in the core game. When the test concludes on 20 October, the toggle is removed and matchmaking reverts to normal — Embark is clear that this is an experiment, not a permanent addition.
What’s Excluded — and Why It Matters
Not everything in Arc Raiders translates cleanly into a PvE context. Embark confirmed that four specific conditions will be excluded from the test because each was designed around the tension of player-versus-player encounters and does not function as intended without the threat of hostile players in the mix.
Excluded from the PvE test: Night Rage · Hidden Bunker · Lock Gate · Frig — all four are mechanically built around high-stakes player conflict and have been left out to preserve the test’s focus on co-operative gameplay.
Embark wants players to use the test window for scavenging, completing quests, and exploring the game’s world without the usual anxiety of a surprise ambush. The studio is explicitly not using this test to make PvE harder, introduce new PvE-specific progression, or trial new AI behaviour. The goal is to watch how raiders behave and co-operate when the social pressure of PvP is removed — and collect data on whether that experience has lasting appeal.
The Data Behind the Decision
Arc Raiders launched as a PvPvE extraction shooter, but the game’s origins lie in a concept that leaned closer to pure co-operative play before Embark pivoted the design during development. Demand for a less adversarial mode has never fully gone away, and Embark’s phrasing — “we can’t ignore what the data is telling us” — suggests that player behaviour in the current game has made a compelling case for investigation.
Games in the extraction genre have experimented with PvE toggles before, typically as a response to player retention concerns. Embark has not framed this test in those terms, but the commercial logic is similar: if a meaningful portion of the player base consistently avoids PvPvE lobbies or drops off because of hostile player encounters, a PvE option becomes a retention tool as much as a feature request.
Whether the October data will justify a permanent toggle remains to be seen. What it will do is give Embark something concrete to point to when the community debate — which has run since the game’s launch — flares up again. It is also an opportunity for players who have stayed away from Arc Raiders specifically because of PvP pressure to try the game on their own terms for the first time. Details on how to access the toggle will be available in-game from 13 October.
