ARC Raiders PvE Mode Future: Embark Wants It Without 'Undermining the Premise of the Game'

The PvE test is over, and Embark Studios is now openly wrestling with what comes next. In an interview with MP1st published October 25, ARC Raiders executive producer Aleksander Grøndal said the studio is doing "a deep dive" into the results of the PvE matchmaking toggle test, and admitted the team was "a bit skeptical" about adding such a mode "for historical reasons." No decision has been made yet. Embark's official wrap-up post says more information should arrive in November.

What Grøndal actually said

The most telling line is about who the mode is for. Grøndal told MP1st that "a certain player type wants to play the game without the stress," and suggested the test may be a sign that ARC Raiders could support more kinds of players. Then came the catch: "The challenge, of course, is how we do that without undermining the premise of the game itself."

He also listed the open questions the team has to answer before it even gets to content plans:

• A chill side mode to play between tense PvPvE rounds?
• A challenge mode where you test your skills against the ARC alone?
• A full PvE-only experience?

According to Grøndal, each option would change how Embark builds future updates, so the content pipeline question comes after deciding what the need really is.

Why Embark is cautious

The skepticism has a backstory. As MP1st points out, ARC Raiders began life as a PvE-only co-op looter before Embark turned it into an extraction shooter. The outlet quotes Embark CCO Stefan Strandberg, from the studio's 2025 video documentary, saying of the earlier version that "it didn't work."

That history is why a PvE toggle is a bigger call than it looks. The tension of meeting other Raiders on the surface is the core of the game, and a permanent PvE queue could split the player base. Embark's executive producer already called a permanent split "very possible" back when the test was announced, as we covered in ARC Raiders PvE Mode Test Starts October 13.

What the test produced

The numbers suggest plenty of players tried it. In its October 20 post, Embark said:

• More than 30 million PvE rounds were played during the test window.
• Players can share their thoughts in the PvE-test-feedback channel on Discord.
• A survey goes out to a representative sample of players from October 22.
• On a first reading, the test has been "polarizing," and any decision will prioritize "the overall health and enjoyability of the game."

That split matches what we saw in the community during the test. Some players called the mode bland, while others said it was what they had always wanted (our player reactions roundup). Some even tried to grief PvE lobbies with Lure Grenades (full story). The test ended with Update 2.2.

What's next

• Now: Embark is analyzing the data, Discord feedback and survey answers.
• November 2026: Embark expects to share more about PvE's future, per its official post.
• October 27: separately, the Soul's Offering Raider Project starts.

For now, PvE is not coming back on a set date. If it does return, Grøndal's comments suggest it could look quite different from the simple toggle players tried in October.