ARC Raiders Dev Discusses Challenges of 'Escalating' the Game's PvE in the Future

One of the design leads on ARC Raiders is sharing some of the different ways Embark Studios is looking at growing the game’s PvE content in the future. The extraction shooter has been one of gaming’s biggest breakout hits since its launch in late October, becoming a popular choice for players and streamers. ARC Raiders has already sold 12 million copies and has even already captured a major award, winning “Best Multiplayer Game” at the 2025 Game Awards. Understandably, ARC Raiders‘ gameplay has been one of its biggest points of praise.

ARC Raiders boasts a wide variety of different ways for players to experience the game, mixing both PvP and PvE elements. ARC Raiders tasks players not only with squaring off against a wide variety of ARC enemies roaming its in-game world, but also with others looking to prey upon weaker players. The unique gameplay has even led some players to break the mold of the game’s expectations, doing everything from intentionally helping other players to acting as a trader in ARC Raiders. Now, Embark Studios is reportedly looking at ways to ramp up its PvE content.

ARC Raiders Dev Reveals Cut Feature That Would Have Been a Total Game-Changer

An ARC Raiders developer reveals one feature was cut from the game that would have been a massive game-changer.

ARC Raiders is Looking at “Escalating” Its PvE Content

In a recent interview with GamesRadar, ARC Raiders design lead Virgil Watkins spoke about how Embark Studios is considering growing its PvE content. Watkins made reference to Embark Studios looking to “escalate the scale” of its PvE enemies, feeling that many players have begun to master current “big boss” enemies, like the Queens and Matriarchs. The developer alluded to looking at how ARC Raiders can improve on its more notable bosses to feel imposing to players, citing the colossal ARC enemies seen in the backgrounds of maps as a potential future challenge for players. Watkins even cited the potential issues that could come with adding one of the gargantuan enemies, feeling it could possibly “break the server.”

Watkins also spoke more about how ARC Raiders can address the challenge of the game’s PvE content on a smaller scale. One angle the developer has looked at is adding new variants of its pre-existing enemies, boasting different attack patterns, weapons, and more to switch things up. Watkins stressed the importance of how the new enemies would “fit into the game’s ecosystem,” not wanting to create simple variants just for the purpose of giving players a new enemy to farm. Watkins did leave fans with one last teaser, suggesting the Shredder enemies featured solely on the Stella Montis map may eventually find their way to other zones.

arc raiders aggression based matchmaking explained

PvP vs PvE Has Been ARC Raiders’ Biggest Player Split

ARC Raiders‘ potential changes to its PvE content could look to spice up the shooter’s gameplay. The split between PvP and PvE players has always been a pronounced difference within the game, with many not wanting to engage with PvP content. Embark Studios has even confirmed that ARC Raiders uses “aggression-based matchmaking” to some extent, attempting to match PvP or PvE-centric players with others of similar focuses. The studio has also confirmed that ARC Raiders does not use any form of skill-based matchmaking, like many other popular shooters.

Embark Studios looks to have big plans in the works for ARC Raiders in 2026, with the developer recently sharing its first teasers of the year. Virgil Watkins has already hinted at “multiple maps” coming to ARC Raiders in 2026, with a mix of both smaller, tighter maps and huge, sprawling locales for players to explore. ARC Raiders has even revealed one of the first big additions of 2026, with the “Toxic Swamp” condition coming to the Dam Battlegrounds map on January 19. ARC Raiders fans should have lots to be excited about, with Embark Studios aiming to carry on the game’s seemingly unstoppable early momentum.