This was confirmed by Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund ARC Raiders uses several factors in determining how to place players in a lobby, one of which is their playstyle. By deploying players ARC Raiders lobbying with others who play the game similarly allows players to experience more of what they want in the game.
ARC Raiders has become mainstream in the extraction shooter genre. Its release at the end of 2025 was a huge success, and the momentum from its huge launch has only been building ever since. For example, where Battlefield 6 lost 85% of its player base in the first months, ARC Raiders she kept 91% of her own. For a brand new IP, this is incredibly impressive and it seems ARC Raiders he has some serious staying power right now. It's a live service game, so it may depend on the content it releases in the future, but so far it's looking positive ARC Raiders.
The best loadout for every map in ARC Raiders
Going to the top in ARC Raiders requires a solid loadout to handle both ARC enemies and enemy PvP players.
According to Embark's CEO, ARC Raiders uses aggression-based matchmaking
Speaking to GamesBeat while playing the game itself, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund revealed how ARC Raiders matchmaking works with regards to finding players for others to play with. “Obviously it's primarily skill-based,” explained Söderlund. “Then you have solos, duos, and trios. And then we also, about a week ago, introduced a system where we also create matchups based on how prone you are to PvP or PvE. So if you prefer PvE and have less conflict with players… you'll match up more. Obviously, it's not an exact science.”
Embark Studios has mentioned this before ARC Raiders has some sort of stylistic matchmaking, courtesy of art director Robert Sammelin, who confirmed that developers are “analyzing behavior and responding accordingly.” However, hearing this relates specifically to how often players engage in PvP and PvE combat and offers a better understanding of how the core systems ARC Raiders work and it makes a lot of sense. In many survival games of the past, players with a lot of triggers can be a game-ruining experience for those who want to enjoy the game their way. ARC Raiders it solves this by limiting the probability that this will be the case. Of course there will always be outliers where normally peaceful players shoot first, but at least that won't be true more often. And those players who want to fight will get it too with this system.
…if you prefer PvE and have less conflict with players… you get more consistency.
It is interesting that Söderlund mentions this ARC Raiders” matchmaking is primarily skill-based. Skill-based matchmaking has been a very controversial topic in recent years, especially in other shooter franchises such as Call of Duty. So much so Black Ops 7 they left behind skill-based matchmaking, a decision that produced mixed results. However, with ARC Raiders Enjoying significant player retention since its October launch, it would be hard to argue that its matchmaking systems haven't been a resounding success so far.
Over time, it is highly likely that there will be a skill gap between the hardcore and the casual player ARC Raiders players will increase. While the lack of organic matchmaking will always hurt some, making sure everyone is having fun with the game will likely be better for long-term health. ARC Raiders. After this conversation, there are still some remaining questions about matchmaking in the game, such as how the game favors parties with mixed aggression players. It seems unlikely that this will ever be fully answered, as the formulas for this sort of thing are usually kept secret. So while not every question has been answered, this is probably as close to a full explanation as players will get.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood
