ARC Raiders PvE Mode Could Return as Embark Studies Divisive Test

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Store links: ARC Raiders on Steam

Embark is not ready to lock in a permanent PvE mode

Embark Studios is actively studying whether the ARC Raiders PvE mode should come back after a limited test that temporarily changed the shape of the game. According to Video Games Chronicle, the studio ran a week-long PvE matchmaking toggle earlier this month, then removed it when the test concluded. During that window, players who enabled the toggle entered matches where Raiders could not damage each other and instead fought ARC enemies cooperatively.

The concrete number is the eye-catcher: Embark said players took part in more than 30 million PvE rounds during the test, giving the studio “a huge amount of information to analyze,” as reported by VGC. That does not equal a permanent commitment. In an interview with MP1st, executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said Embark is now doing a “deep dive” into the results and discussing what it wants to do next.

That puts ARC Raiders Embark Studios in a tricky spot. The test clearly generated participation, but the studio has not said that high activity alone proves the mode belongs in the game long term. MP1st reports that Embark’s own post-test messaging described the reaction as polarizing and said the team expects to follow up with more information in November.

The PvE test brought back an old version of ARC Raiders

The tension around an ARC Raiders PvE return is sharper because this is not a random side experiment. ARC Raiders originally began life as a PvE cooperative looter before Embark pivoted toward the PvPvE extraction shooter it is now. VGC reports that Embark previously decided the “larger recipe for the game wasn’t there” in that earlier PvE form.

MP1st points to Embark’s own video documentary history on the pivot. Stefan Strandberg, Embark’s chief creative officer and formerly ARC Raiders’ creative director, said the earlier version “didn’t work,” adding that the team “couldn’t replicate the sessions consistently enough.” That context explains why Grøndal told MP1st the studio was “a bit skeptical” about bringing a PvE-only mode back “for historical reasons.”

So the current debate is not only whether players enjoyed a safer queue. It is whether a mode that resembles the game’s abandoned starting point can now fit inside the live game without pulling against the design that replaced it. Embark has confirmed it is evaluating that question. It has not confirmed a release date, format, reward structure, matchmaking setup, or whether PvE would return at all.

Why players want the lower-stress queue

The player demand is easy to understand from the mode rules Embark tested. Standard ARC Raiders is PvPvE, meaning enemy machines and human Raiders both shape the run. The test removed the human damage threat. That changes the pacing immediately. Looting, rotating, reviving, and taking fights against ARC enemies become cooperative decisions rather than moves made under constant suspicion.

Grøndal told MP1st that “a certain player type wants to play the game without the stress.” He also suggested the test may show the game can support more player types, though he added that Embark has to figure out how to do that without undermining the game’s premise.

That is the core split. Some players want the world, weapons, enemies, and extraction loop without getting deleted by another squad near the exit. Others see those hostile encounters as the engine of the genre. PCGamesN reported that community opinions remain divided, with some players wanting to explore without rogue Raiders and others worried that removing PvP could weaken what makes the game distinct.

As a shooter question, this is about pressure. PvP turns sound, sightlines, third-party timing, and greed into threats. PvE can still punish sloppy aim or bad positioning, but it usually cannot replicate the paranoia of another human team deciding whether to ambush, bargain, or disengage. If Embark keeps PvE, the studio will need to decide whether it is offering relief from that pressure or building a parallel competitive challenge around AI.

A permanent mode would force Embark to define its role

Grøndal laid out three possible directions in the MP1st interview: a relaxed side mode between intense PvPvE raids, a challenge mode built around testing skills against AI, or a full PvE-only experience. Those are very different products, even if they all use the same shorthand of “PvE.”

A chill side mode would likely function as a pressure valve. It could give players a place to learn routes, enemy behaviors, and extraction rhythms without every mistake becoming a PvP death. A challenge mode would need stronger encounter design and clear difficulty goals so it does not feel like a defanged version of the main queue. A full PvE experience would carry the heaviest expectations because players would expect progression, content updates, tuning, and replayability that stand on their own.

Embark has not announced which version, if any, it prefers. Grøndal told MP1st that the studio first needs to understand the actual player need before it gets into the content discussion. He also said every option would carry different implications for future ARC Raiders update plans.

That is a practical live-service problem. Supporting one extraction ecosystem is already a balancing act. Supporting two queues with different risk profiles can split attention, create reward-economy problems, and make every update harder to tune. If the same loot pays out in PvE with lower player-driven risk, PvPvE players may see the main mode as less efficient or less fair. If PvE rewards are too limited, the mode may satisfy curiosity but fail as a permanent destination.

The Steam data signal is real, but it does not prove causation

VGC reports that six-month SteamDB data showed ARC Raiders concurrent users rose sharply in October when the limited-time PvE mode launched. That is a useful signal, but it should be read carefully. SteamDB concurrency can show visible player movement, not the exact reason every player logged in.

The timing matters because the PvE toggle gave lapsed, curious, or stress-averse players a clear reason to try a different version of ARC Raiders. It may also have pulled regular players back because limited-time modes create urgency. What the public data cannot answer is retention: whether those players kept playing after several rounds, whether they returned to PvPvE, whether they only wanted novelty, or whether they would support a permanent queue for months.

Embark appears to be treating the test as a data problem rather than a popularity contest. The studio has round volume, feedback, and likely internal numbers the public cannot see, such as extraction rates, session length, squad behavior, repeat play, and how PvE activity affected the standard mode. MP1st reports that Embark said its decision will prioritize the overall health and enjoyability of the game.

That phrasing matters. A permanent ARC Raiders PvE mode can be popular in isolation and still create problems if it drains the main queue, distorts progression, or forces the studio to build updates around two different audiences. The test gave Embark evidence. It did not remove the tradeoff.

The extraction shooter identity is the part Embark cannot dodge

ARC Raiders sits in a genre built on uncertain human contact. Extraction shooters use loss, loot value, and unpredictable player behavior to create stakes. When a player hears movement nearby, the question is not only whether they can win the gunfight. It is whether the fight is worth taking, whether another squad is waiting, and whether the extraction timer changes the math.

The PvE toggle removes one of those variables. That can make ARC Raiders more approachable, especially for players who like its enemy design and scavenging loop but do not want every raid shaped by PvP anxiety. It can also make the game cleaner as a learning environment, since deaths against AI are easier to understand and improve from than getting caught by a silent squad at the worst possible moment.

The risk is that a permanent PvE option changes how players interpret the main mode. If PvE becomes the recommended way to farm, learn, or unwind, PvPvE could become framed as the hardcore lane instead of the default identity. If PvE is treated as a secondary mode with narrow rewards, players who asked for it may feel Embark brought it back without truly supporting it.

That is the needle Grøndal described to MP1st. Embark is not deciding whether cooperative play is fun in a vacuum. It is deciding whether ARC Raiders can support a second rhythm without weakening the premise that made the pivot to PvPvE necessary in the first place.

What to expect next from the ARC Raiders PvE discussion

For now, players should treat the ARC Raiders PvE return as under consideration, not confirmed. The completed test is confirmed. The 30 million-plus PvE rounds are confirmed by Embark’s post-test comments as reported by VGC. Embark’s November follow-up window is reported by MP1st from the studio’s post-test messaging. A permanent mode, its structure, its rewards, and its release timing remain unannounced.

If you preferred ARC Raiders with less player-on-player friction, the best-case near-term outcome is that Embark shares a clear readout on what it learned and which version of PvE it thinks the game can support. If you value the PvPvE extraction shooter identity, the key question is whether Embark can protect the main mode’s stakes while giving lower-stress players a reason to stay in the ecosystem.

The smartest move from Embark would be clarity before commitment. A limited toggle can survive rough edges because players understand it is a test. A permanent queue becomes part of the game’s contract with its audience. Once the studio says PvE is here to stay, every balance patch, enemy update, progression change, and content drop will be judged through both modes.

That is why this ARC Raiders update conversation is bigger than one popular test. Embark has evidence that many players will show up for PvE. Now it has to decide whether those players are asking for a breather, a skill challenge, or a second version of ARC Raiders.