ARC Raiders recently underwent a major update for the game’s first anniversary. It was called ‘Frozen Trail’, and it effectively introduced a 2.0 version of the game, packed with new ARC enemies, fresh weapons, a new hideout, and a stack of new game mechanics. Put simply, it was the most important ARC Raiders update ever.
Days after it dropped, Embark Studios, the game’s developer, pushed out something monumental: a PvE test. They introduced a ‘toggle’ that allowed players to switch between PvPvE and PvE settings. It proved controversial, but it addressed the biggest point of contention in the game’s ecosystem, one that had existed since its October 2025 launch.
I recently asked more than 1,100 ARC Raiders players what they thought about PvE in this disruptive extraction adventure title, and the results were pretty surprising…
Do People Want ARC Raiders PvE?
I’ll preface this by making one thing very clear: I love PvE modes in games. If I can pick PvE over PvPvE, I will do it every single day of the week. I do it in games like Gray Zone Warfare and Escape from Tarkov, and I did it in ARC Raiders. Being transparent, I hadn’t touched ARC Raiders for five months before this toggle was added, and the moment I flipped that switch, I fell in love all over again.
It made me curious, so I put the question to more than 1,100 players via a video. I wanted to know what they thought about the new PvE mode in ARC Raiders, which has been set up as a limited-time test by Embark Studios, just a toe-in-the-water kind of situation. If it’s a success, it’s easy to see it becoming a permanent fixture, but they were quick to stress there’s no guarantee of that.
My video landed, and within 12 hours, it had amassed 800+ comments. Eventually, I was staring down the barrel of 1,100+ comments, a drop in the ocean of ARC Raiders’ player base, but enough to extrapolate something representative of the wider community.
I’ll be honest, YouTube’s algorithms might have driven players already primed to appreciate PvE content to the video, so I’ll consider that, but the results of my little experiment were clear: everybody loves PvE in ARC Raiders.
I shouldn’t generalize, but the vast, vast majority of comments coming back were gushing with compliments, praise, and gratitude to Embark Studios for adding the PvE test to ARC Raiders. I saw so few hate-based comments, and those who didn’t approve of the PvE test were critical but constructive, in most cases.
For instance, one user wrote:
I haven’t played since the hurricane event. I was 500 hours at that point. From the 13th until today I have logged 22 hours. Wouldn’t have been a thought without PvE. Thanks Embark, I’ll buy your next game.
Another said:
Bought the game, played seven hours, gave up after getting smashed by chads and sweats in PvP. Left a post on the official Embark Reddit saying this game needs PvE, so glad to see this mode.
I came back for PvE and will be palying more over the next week. My wife and I really enjoy co-op games like this.
That’s a sentiment that I saw echoed over and over again: ‘My wife and I’, ‘my son and I’, ‘me and my kids’, ‘me and my Dad’. I saw words and terms like ‘relaxing’, ‘peaceful’, ‘chill’, and ‘laid back’.
I’m loving the PvE. I played for about six hours last night. I enjoyed turning the HUD off and going exploring. The sound design and world-building is so immersive. Also, making the PvE and PvPvE characters separate would be for the best.
This builds on some ‘improvement actions’ I discussed in the video. I suggested some key elements that need to be addressed by Embark Studios if they make the mode permanent:
- PvE and PvPvE progress and stashes should be kept separate (whether or not that splits the community)
- Looting needs to be instanced to deter ‘thieves’ who hang around key rooms or large-scale ARC enemies, waiting to leap on the effort of others
- ARC presence needs to be denser, or the enemies that exist need to be more challenging to reflect the inherent lack of ‘threat’ from other players
- Player-vs-player collisions should be removed, as we’re seeing griefers use this mechanic to disrupt the entertainment of others
- Nothing should be ringfenced away from PvE players. If they make it permanent, PvE-focused players need to have access to the same content slate, map conditions, and rotations as PvP-focused players
RELATED: ARC Raiders is the Perfect Extraction Shooter for People Who Don’t Play Them
Overwhelming Support
When ARC Raiders’ Frozen Trail update landed on October 8, it eventually pushed the player count to the highest point it had been in six months – 185,443 players. By October 12, that had dropped to a peak of 152,547, and then when the PvE test came on October 13, a small spike took it back up to 164,228.
It’s no major shake, but it was enough to represent the interest players had in the PvE test.
I’ll be as unbiased as possible here and say that the comments I saw weren’t all supportive. For instance, one player wrote, ‘Some a**hole followed me around the map and bumped off loot he told me he won’t let me extract unless I drop my gun maddening.’
Another addressed one of the chief issues with PvE: ‘PVE sucks because it’s nothing but a bunch of vultures. Kill a Bastion to unlock my Work bench and there is a ton of people that just rush it they wouldn’t do that if I shot them for it. They don’t even ask or say anything; just vultures.’
One user bagged on the state of the ‘reduced loot pool’ that was introduced for the test:
Tried the toggle, found about 1/3 the normal loot options so I turned that sh*t off.
On YouTube, you can filter by ‘negative feedback’, and I ran some reports to see what I could dredge up, but believe me, it was tough to find legitimate complaints. There were a lot of comments deemed negative because they said things like, ‘The only people who don’t like it are rats’, or ‘F**k those people who just wanna kill everybody and hide in corners, etc.’
At the far end of the support spectrum, I found folks pre-grudging Embark Studios for the inevitable ending of the PvE test:
If they end the test and get rid of PvE mode, then I will uninstall the game until they bring it back. We are at a zero sum game with this development team. They can either acede to our demands or go broke. It’s that simple. We have all the cards.
Bit much, but okay.
My teenage son and I quit playing about six months ago after dumping in close to 100 hours, but because of the PvE we did pick it back up and we have been enjoying running missions and exploring the maps and taking out ARC! If it comes back permanent, I might just buy us both some new skins for our characters.
See, people are willing to part ways with cash money to show their appreciation for PvE content.
Holding my hands up and speaking with full transparency, it has been extremely tough to see genuine complaints about PvE content, and that’s out of a field of more than 1,100 comments, with more coming in every minute.
The consensus is so clear, and players want PvE to stay.
RELATED: ARC Raiders is the Highest-Rated Multiplayer Shooter in a Decade
The Great PvE Debate
PvE vs. PvP is the new XBOX vs. PlayStation (and that’s still going on…), and it’s one of the liveliest debates in the business.
What I gathered from this ARC Raiders PvE experiment is that people generally want this content. They at least want the choice to play PvE. I’m even seeing PvP-focused players advocate for a PvE mode because they can simply appreciate that some folks just want a different way to play the game they love.
Most of the comments referenced people coming back after a long break, experiencing the PvE test, and feeling that rush they might have gotten when the game first came out. I know that’s what happened to me.
The emergent gameplay is still there; you still have the tension and intensity of the ARC enemies; you can still enjoy the looter-shooter loop, and you can still make friends, if that’s your thing. The only difference is, you’re not watching your back for a betrayal every second of every raid.
You’re not dodging cheaters. You’re seeing less toxicity and griefing. You’re not needing to worry about exfil campers, or people trying nefarious exploits to catch you off guard.
Ultimately, if ARC Raiders gets a permanent PvE mode and it’s managed properly by Embark Studios, it could be a breath of fresh air for the extraction adventure game. If Escape from Tarkov, a hardcore PvP shooter, can get a PvE platform that can accommodate up to 50% of the player base, why can’t ARC Raiders, a narrative-driven post-apocalyptic adventure title?
After all, Embark Studios wants it to be around for ten years…
Let me know in the comments or on the Insider Gaming Discord server what your thoughts are about all this.
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Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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