"We Tried It and Realized It's Fine": After 30 Million Matches, ARC Raiders CEO Says Embark Must Cater to Both PvE and PvP
The debate between cooperative scavengers and ruthless player-versus-player hunters has defined the ARC Raiders community since launch. Following the massive turnout for October's limited-time PvE matchmaking test, which logged 30 million PvE matches in a single week, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund and Executive Producer Aleksander Grøndal sat down with The Game Business to address the future of the game. Their conclusion marks a clear shift in philosophy: the Swedish studio now agrees it must actively cater to both camps.
"It Would Be Unwise to Ignore the PvE Camp": Patrick Söderlund's Pragmatic Pivot
For months, Embark Studios remained cautious about splitting its core extraction queues. Yet as the shooter just celebrated its first anniversary with 16 million copies sold and 6 billion matches played, studio leadership acknowledges that a player base of that scale naturally brings vastly different expectations when dropping Topside.
Discussing the future of dedicated PvE content, Patrick Söderlund made it clear that clinging to a rigid dogma is no longer an option:
"We now have a large enough audience that we need to listen and cater for both camps, so to say. We can't ignore the PvE camp completely and just say, 'Well, this is not the game that we built.' That would be unwise. What we're trying to do is to obviously stay true to the game that we built, but we also need to respect that there are people that want a slightly different ARC Raiders than the others."
Executive Producer Aleksander Grøndal echoed that sentiment, pointing out that the conversation brings the Stockholm team full circle to the project's original 2021 reveal as a cooperative shooter before its internal reboot:
"It used to be a PvE game. That's what it started as and then we reset the game and we created the PvPvE game that we have today. And one of the things that was always on the back of our mind is how would a PvE version of this game really look?"
How 30 Million October Matches Put Embark's Biggest Fear to Rest
Until recently, the studio's hesitation had nothing to do with engineering hurdles. As Patrick Söderlund candidly admitted during the conversation: "We could just frankly add PvE. It's not a difficult thing for us to do." Instead, the leadership team worried that stripping out player ambushes would flatten the signature extraction tension or drain the main PvPvE queues.
However, the week-long live test held from October 13 to October 20 alongside the Frozen Trail expansion dispelled those internal doubts. Following the community feedback we highlighted during the rollout of Update 2.3.0 and the Soul's Offering project, both executives acknowledged that the experiment worked far better than anticipated:
"We've now since tried it and realized that it's fine. Why not have it? Maybe people can choose what they like. But that was our fear all along. People may have been wondering why the hell aren't they just doing what some players were looking for? We were looking at the holistic picture, which we have to do."
37% Friendly Co-Op Players and 51% Demand for a Dedicated PvE Option
Söderlund's willingness to embrace both playstyles is backed by striking internal telemetry shared by Embark Studios. By triangulating match behavior Topside with player surveys, the studio mapped out the exact breakdown of its community:
- 37% Friendly Co-Op Players: A segment that has grown steadily since the October 2025 launch, earning the game the internal nickname "Extraction (Don't) Shooter" among the developers.
- 27% Mixed Players: Raiders who alternate between friendly truces and opportunistic firefights depending on the situation and loot value.
- 34% Pure PvP Players: A stable core of combat-focused squads whose share has remained consistent since day one.
- Widespread Fatigue Over Extraction Camping: More than 70% of friendly players and even 40% of PvP players expressed a desire for fewer hostile encounters, while 51% of all surveyed players requested a dedicated PvE option to escape ratting and extraction camping.
To protect the broader in-game economy during October's test, Embark Studios introduced a smart set of guardrails: disabling all player-to-player damage in PvE instances (while mixing Solos, Duos, and Trios against the ARC threat), while keeping high-stakes conditions like Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate, and Frigate,along with higher baseline loot values,exclusive to the classic PvPvE queue. That exact blueprint now looks poised to become a permanent fixture in the Rust Belt.
My Take: Söderlund's Pragmatism Is Exactly What ARC Raiders Needs for Year Two
When a studio boss like Patrick Söderlund publicly says "we've tried it and realized that it's fine, why not have it?", that is no longer a hypothetical brainstorming session: it is a green light waiting for a patch note. Frankly, it is the smartest move Embark Studios could make as ARC Raiders heads into its second year.
Let's be real: the heavy physics of the ARC machines, the oppressive audio design of orbital patrols, and the retro-futuristic atmosphere of the Rust Belt are strong enough to carry a cooperative session on their own. Letting players toggle on a stress-free PvE raid after a long workday,while preserving higher baseline loot and high-tension night conditions for squads who crave PvPvE adrenaline,is the best way to keep that 37% friendly crowd invested without taking anything away from hardcore extraction veterans.
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SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles "Grimtag" is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
