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Embark Studios is testing a PvE-only matchmaking toggle in ARC Raiders after discovering that a growing share of players were already using “friendly” lobbies to cooperate against ARC machines. The experiment is meant to determine whether that audience needs a dedicated mode without making the game too easy, weakening its tension, or destabilizing its loot economy. It is not confirmation that a permanent PvE playlist is coming.
Why Embark is testing PvE now
ARC Raiders was designed as a PvPvE extraction game, where players can fight machines, collect resources and decide whether to engage other squads. After launch, however, Embark noticed players repeatedly choosing cooperation over combat. Executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said friendly servers were “almost playing out like they don’t have PvP in them at all,” and that this behavior had grown consistently over the game’s history.
Grøndal told Dot Esports that players who mainly wanted to shoot ARC machines could do that roughly 95 percent of the time in friendly lobbies. He described that figure as an interview estimate, not an independently measured statistic. The problem was the remaining five percent: an extraction camper or a better-equipped opponent could interrupt an otherwise successful session and make the entire run feel wasted.
That pattern gave Embark a practical question: do players want a genuinely PvE experience, or do they value the uncertainty of mixed lobbies even when they rarely fight? The matchmaking-toggle test is intended to produce evidence rather than settle the argument by assumption.
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Who Grøndal means by “dad gamers”
“Dad gamers” is Grøndal’s informal shorthand, not an official demographic category. He uses it for people who may have only a couple of hours to play occasionally and want to complete objectives, battle ARC machines and make progress without a hostile player ending the session.
The label describes a time constraint and a preferred play pattern, not a specific age, family status or skill level. A player with limited gaming time may still enjoy PvP; the frustration arises when a short session is decided by an encounter they did not want and had little opportunity to recover from.
What the current experiment changes
Embark’s live experiment adds a matchmaking toggle for PvE-only play. The studio is watching two outcomes at once: whether players choose and enjoy the protected format, and how that choice affects people who remain in mixed PvPvE matchmaking.
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What Embark is trying to learn
- Whether demand for a dedicated PvE experience is large and consistent enough to justify supporting it.
- Whether removing player attacks makes missions lose the tension that defines an extraction game.
- Whether enemy pressure and objective difficulty remain meaningful when another squad cannot ambush a team.
- Whether safer runs change how quickly players acquire loot, stockpile resources or participate in the wider economy.
- Whether separate queues improve player agency without splitting the game into two disconnected experiences.
Grøndal stressed that a test result would not automatically dictate a final design. If Embark keeps a PvE option, the permanent version could use different rules, rewards, enemy strength or matchmaking limits.
The debate inside Embark mirrors the player argument
Grøndal says the development team was divided over the same trade-offs players discuss. Some developers see a clear audience for cooperative machine-fighting; others worry that a separate PvE track would amount to “a game that has two games in one.” He said that is not where Embark would start, while leaving open the possibility that a future form of PvE could work.
Design director Virgil Watkins said pre-release tests were “hyper, hyper aggressive” and that players “never worked together.” The behavior after launch surprised the team: players created cooperative opportunities that the tests had not predicted. Watkins said the game’s guiding principle remains that it “never asks you to fight other players”; choosing PvP is the player’s decision.
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Production director Caio Braga similarly said players proved that a PvE audience existed. PC Gamer reported that Embark now sees “two, quite polar [types of] fans,” making it difficult to optimize one ruleset for both groups.
PvE and mixed play involve different design trade-offs
| Design axis | PvE-only matchmaking | Mixed PvPvE matchmaking |
|---|---|---|
| Tension and unpredictability | Removes attacks from other players, creating a more predictable run. | Preserves uncertainty about whether another squad will cooperate, avoid you or attack. |
| Risk of losing an extraction | Player ambushes are removed, so failure depends more on machines, objectives and mistakes. | Another squad can still turn a successful extraction into a loss. |
| Difficulty | Embark may need stronger machine pressure or other adjustments to prevent the mode becoming too easy. | Player encounters add difficulty without developers directly changing enemy behavior. |
| Loot and economy | Safer, more consistent runs could alter the rate at which resources enter circulation. | Combat risk naturally limits some successful extractions and creates higher variance. |
| Time commitment | Better suited to players who cannot afford a session-ending ambush. | More volatile; a single encounter can determine the outcome of a short play session. |
| Player agency | Lets players explicitly choose cooperation against ARC machines. | Leaves the decision to engage other players inside each match. |
These are design considerations, not measured outcomes from the experiment. Embark has not announced that PvE changes the economy, difficulty or queue health in a particular direction.
Is a permanent PvE mode confirmed?
No. The matchmaking toggle is an experiment, and Embark has not promised a permanent PvE playlist. The studio first wants to see whether players actually use the option, whether the resulting experience remains challenging and whether mixed-lobby matchmaking continues to function well.
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A successful test could still lead to a limited or differently tuned version rather than a permanent duplicate of the main game. Possible adjustments would have to preserve meaningful objectives, prevent unrestricted resource inflation and avoid making either queue feel abandoned. None of those implementation details has been confirmed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What this means for players
If you mainly want to fight ARC machines
The toggle is an opportunity to test whether a protected session matches what you have been seeking in friendly lobbies. Your experience will still depend on machine encounters, objectives and extraction decisions; PvE does not mean risk-free play.
If you prefer PvP encounters
The test is also evaluating your side of the ecosystem. Embark is watching whether removing willing PvE players changes the quality, population or pacing of mixed matchmaking. The studio has not said that PvP players will be forced into a new ruleset.
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If you are concerned about the game’s identity
The central question is not simply whether PvE is popular. Embark is deciding whether it can offer more control without losing the tension created by uncertain human behavior. The developers’ comments show that this remains an unresolved design choice, not a completed roadmap item.
The bottom line on Embark’s PvE experiment
ARC Raiders is testing PvE because players turned cooperative, low-conflict sessions into a visible pattern that the developers had not expected before launch. Grøndal’s “dad gamers” description points to players with limited time who want objective-focused runs without a surprise PvP loss. Embark is now testing whether that preference deserves dedicated matchmaking while measuring the consequences for tension, difficulty, economy and the remaining mixed-lobby population. Until the experiment produces a decision, a permanent PvE mode remains possible but unconfirmed.
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