Arc Raiders PvE-Only Co-op Test Runs October 13-20

Arc Raiders is preparing a limited PvE-only matchmaking test from October 13 through October 20. During that week, players will be able to choose between the game’s usual PvPvE matchmaking and a separate co-op option with no damage between players. The trial is explicitly temporary: when it ends, the toggle is scheduled to disappear and matchmaking will return to its normal setup while Embark Studios evaluates player feedback and in-game data.

The experiment is notable because it tests a different answer to the central question behind an extraction shooter: is the thrill of making it out with valuable gear dependent on the threat posed by other people? Arc Raiders’ usual formula includes both computer-controlled threats and potentially hostile players. The October test removes the latter from the equation, while retaining a meaningful tradeoff: PvE participants will receive slightly less loot to reflect their lower exposure to danger.

It is not being presented as a confirmed permanent mode. The studio has stressed that the test could fail to work as intended and that its existence is only evidence that a longer-term dedicated PvE option is under serious consideration.

What changes during the PvE-only test

For the seven-day window, the matchmaking choice is straightforward:

PvPvE matchmaking: the existing format, where players contend with AI-controlled opposition as well as the possibility of encountering rival players.
PvE-only matchmaking: a co-op format in which players cannot damage one another.

Solos, duos and trios will all enter the same PvE matchmaking pool. The key rule is zero player-to-player damage, so a squadmate cannot harm a teammate and a solo player cannot attack another player met in the session. That is a stronger separation than merely reducing incentives to fight: combat between players is disabled.

The tradeoff is reduced loot. The supplied details do not specify the size of the reduction or identify which rewards are affected, so players should not assume that every item, weapon, or progression currency will follow the same adjustment. What is clear is the reasoning: reaching extraction without the risk of other players is expected to be easier, and rewards are being tuned downward to account for that difference.

Why reduced loot matters in an extraction shooter

An extraction shooter is built around entering a session, gathering resources or equipment, and successfully leaving with them. The pressure comes not just from fighting enemies but from deciding how much to risk before attempting to extract. A player carrying more valuable loot generally has more to lose if a run goes wrong.

In PvPvE, another player can introduce uncertainty at any point. They might fight, avoid contact, cooperate temporarily, or wait for an advantageous moment. A dedicated PvE queue removes that social and competitive uncertainty, which could make routes, objectives and extraction decisions more predictable. The game’s adjustment to loot is therefore an attempt to preserve a difference in reward between the two choices rather than making the lower-risk route equally lucrative.

That balance has practical consequences. If the PvE rewards are too generous, players focused on accumulating gear may feel there is little reason to accept PvP risk. If rewards are reduced too sharply, the co-op queue may not feel worthwhile to the very players it is meant to accommodate. The October test offers a way to measure where players land rather than treating either assumption as settled.

There is also an economy question. When more players can consistently bring loot out of matches, the rate at which valuable equipment enters player inventories could change. Reduced loot is one direct control, but the test will also show how often players choose the safer queue and how successful their extractions become. Those patterns matter when a game’s progression is tied to what people can recover and keep.

Player data is driving the test

Embark says its player breakdown points to several distinct preferences. It reports that 37% of players are focused on friendly co-op, a group that has increased consistently since launch. Another 34% are described as pure PvP players, while 27% enjoy both sides of the game. More than half of the player base has expressed interest in a dedicated PvE choice.

Those figures do not mean every player will use the new queue, nor do they establish that a permanent mode is guaranteed. They do explain why the studio is willing to test a feature it sees as potentially disruptive to the game’s established tension. A one-week period can reveal whether stated interest becomes actual queue participation, how each audience responds to reward changes, and whether the two matchmaking options can coexist cleanly.

The test also reflects Arc Raiders’ unusual path. The game was first conceived as a PvE experience before becoming the PvPvE extraction shooter players know now. The studio has subsequently explored more overtly PvE-oriented ideas, including matchmaking changes intended to place highly aggressive players into separate pools. A full PvE mode had also previously been tested in the Chinese version of the game.

Rather than representing a clean reversal, the October trial appears to be another step in an ongoing attempt to serve players who want different kinds of danger from the same game. For co-op-minded players, the appeal is obvious: they can concentrate on AI encounters and cooperative objectives without fearing a player ambush. For committed PvP players, the question is whether a separate PvE queue diminishes the population, unpredictability, and stakes that make PvPvE matches compelling.

The tension Embark is trying to preserve

PvPvE means player-versus-player-versus-environment. It describes a setting where human-controlled participants and AI-controlled enemies share the same match. The combination is important because players must interpret another squad’s intentions while still dealing with environmental dangers. A player who hears gunfire is not simply learning that combat is happening; they may have to decide whether it is a threat, an opportunity, or a situation to avoid.

A PvE-only pool removes that layer. That does not automatically make sessions easy, but it does make the source of risk narrower and more legible. The studio has acknowledged that this change could reduce some of the suspense the game was designed around. That is the core creative risk: a mode can be welcomed by one segment of the audience while changing the perceived value of the original format for another.

Matchmaking health is another practical concern. Splitting players between PvPvE and PvE-only queues can potentially lengthen wait times, particularly if one option draws substantially more of the active population at certain times. Combining solos, duos and trios in one PvE pool is an apparent way to keep that queue broader, though the supplied information does not set out how teams will be balanced once matched.

For a related example of how shooters can carve out separate spaces for player-versus-environment play alongside competitive modes, see the upcoming Marathon Symbiosis update’s PvE space and Team Deathmatch plans. Arc Raiders’ approach is different in an important way: this is a time-limited matchmaking test whose continuation depends on what happens during the trial.

What players should watch for from October 13 to 20

The clearest immediate choice will be about priorities. Players who value uninterrupted cooperation and do not mind lighter rewards have a defined window to try the PvE queue. Players who prefer the uncertainty created by other squads can remain in standard PvPvE matchmaking. Players who enjoy both may be especially useful to the test, because their behavior can indicate whether the modes feel like complementary choices or competing alternatives.

Feedback will matter alongside usage data. Useful feedback is likely to be specific: whether reduced rewards feel proportionate to the removed PvP danger; whether mixed squad sizes in one pool feel workable; whether PvE sessions retain enough pressure; and whether regular PvPvE matchmaking changes noticeably during the week. General preference still matters, but those details address the design decisions the test is actually examining.

There is no promise that the toggle will return after October 20, and no permanent PvE timetable has been provided. When the test closes, matchmaking is expected to revert to normal. That makes the event a genuine trial rather than an early-access rollout with a predetermined destination.

Arc Raiders is also moving toward allowing players to unlock weapons and items without hunting down blueprints. Together with the PvE experiment, that points to a period of active scrutiny around how progression, risk and accessibility fit together. The upcoming week will not settle every question about the game’s identity, but it should provide the most direct evidence yet on whether a no-PvP co-op option can live alongside the extraction tension that defines the standard experience.