Announcement September 24, 2026

Arc Raiders PvE Toggle Test — Ended, Survey & What Comes Next

Embark tested a PvE matchmaking toggle in Arc Raiders for one week, October 13-20, 2026. Players could switch between the classic PvPvE experience and a PvE mode with zero player-to-player damage. The test is over and the toggle was removed with Update 2.2.0. Here is what Embark said afterward, how the test worked, and why Embark ran it.

Ended October 20 30M+ PvE Rounds Decision in November Zero Player Damage Lower Loot Value No MMR Impact Community Poll

The Test Is Over: What Embark Said

On October 20 Embark posted a short thank-you to everyone who took part. The results are not out yet, but the post gives a few hard facts:

30 million+ PvE rounds: played during the seven-day test. Embark says it needs a short time to analyze the data

"Polarizing": Embark's own word for how players reacted to the test

Survey from October 22: sent to a representative sample of players, so not everyone gets one

Discord feedback: the PvE-test-feedback channel on the official Discord asks how PvE felt compared to normal raids, what could be better, and how your PvPvE matches changed

Next update in November: Embark will decide how to proceed with "the overall health and enjoyability of the game" as the priority. No decision on a permanent PvE mode has been announced

How the PvE Toggle Worked

Dates: October 13 (11:00 CEST) to October 20, 2026 (11:00 CEST), the week after Frozen Trail launched. It went live with Update 2.1.0 and was removed with Update 2.2.0

Switch freely: you could toggle between PvPvE and PvE between raids, for example a relaxed solo PvE session and then back to a high-tension PvPvE match

No player damage: PvE sessions had zero player-to-player damage, and stun and fire throwables did not affect other players. Barricades and ziplines worked as normal

Mixed squads: squad size separation was not prioritized, so Solos, Duos and Trios met more often

Rating protected: PvE play did not affect your PvPvE matchmaking rating

Excluded: Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate and Redirection stayed PvPvE only

What Was Different in PvE

Change

Lower Loot Value

Overall loot value was reduced in PvE to compensate for the relative safety. To keep the economy balanced, PvPvE sessions got slightly higher baseline loot during the test.

Change

ARC Could Re-Target You While Downed

After you were downed in PvE you got an eight second grace period in which ARC would not target you. After that they could attack again if they caught you moving. This kept some tension without the threat of other Raiders.

Same Content, Just Safer

You could still scavenge, complete quests and explore. Embark was not testing harder PvE or new PvE progression, only an alternative to PvP encounters.

Why Embark Tested PvE

Arc Raiders started life seven years ago as a raid-based PvE co-op game before Embark reset it into the PvPvE extraction shooter it is today. After launch, the playerbase turned out to be far more varied than expected. Embark shared this breakdown of how players prefer to play:

37% friendly co-op players (a group that has grown steadily since launch)

27% mixed players

34% pure PvP players (stable since launch)

Over 70% of friendly players and 40% of PvP players want fewer hostile encounters

51% of surveyed players are interested in a dedicated PvE option

Risks & What Comes Next

Tension and Queue Times

Before the test, Embark admitted PvE could reduce the tension the game was built around. It also warned that matchmaking could take a little longer in low-population regions or off-hours, and that a large PvE turnout could affect PvPvE session quality. With more than 30 million PvE rounds played, that turnout clearly happened, and how it affected PvPvE is one of the questions Embark is asking players now.

No Promise of a PvE Mode

The toggle was removed when the test ended. Embark says the feedback, the survey and the in-game data will decide whether it comes back, and it expects to share more in November. Any future version could look very different, and it is possible the idea does not return at all.

Community Poll

Should the PvE Toggle Come Back to Arc Raiders?

Embark's PvE toggle test ran October 13 to 20, and Embark plans to share what happens next in November. Tell us what you think before then. It takes five seconds, it's anonymous, and we'll publish the results here and pass them on to Embark.

PvE Toggle FAQ

When was the Arc Raiders PvE toggle test?

The PvE matchmaking toggle test ran from October 13 (11:00 CEST) to October 20, 2026 (11:00 CEST), the week after the Frozen Trail update. It went live with Update 2.1.0 and was removed with Update 2.2.0.

Is Arc Raiders getting a permanent PvE mode?

Not decided yet. The test ended on October 20 and the toggle was removed. Embark says more than 30 million PvE rounds were played, calls the test polarizing, and started a survey for a representative sample of players on October 22. It expects to share what happens next in November.

Could other players damage you in PvE mode?

No. PvE sessions had zero player-to-player damage, and stun and fire throwables did not affect other players. Barricades and ziplines still worked normally. Squad size separation was not prioritized, so Solos, Duos and Trios met more often.

Did PvE affect my PvPvE matchmaking rating?

No. Playing PvE sessions did not affect your PvPvE matchmaking rating.

Which maps and conditions were excluded from PvE?

Night Raid, Locked Gate, Hidden Bunker, Frigate and Redirection did not offer PvE during the test, because they are designed around the uncertainty of meeting other players.

Was loot the same in PvE?

No. Overall loot value was lower in PvE sessions to balance their relative safety, and PvPvE sessions got slightly higher baseline loot during the test.