Embark Studios releases a new store update for ARC Raiders, though as part of the patch, it also announced a big change to the game’s matchmaking based on player feedback. Matchmaking has always been a major topic of debate for both Embark and its community of ARC Raiders players, and this latest change appears to be aimed at improving matches for everyone.
ARC Raiders is currently undergoing a bit of an evolution. After blasting onto the scene back on October 30, 2025, ARC Raiders became a massive hit, bringing what was once considered a niche genre into the masses. Part of that sustainable success could be attributed to the consistent events and monthly content drops put out by Embark, a strategy that would prove to be challenging to keep. Following the April Update, Embark announced an end to monthly ARC Raiders content drops, instead moving to 2 major content updates per year, while keeping a live service team in place to continue smaller events and updates.
ARC Raiders Increases Matchmaking Time For Better Quality Rounds
As expected, ARC Raiders has been seeing plenty of small patches over the past weeks and months since the change was announced, typically known as Store Updates. While typically smaller in scope, they sometimes address bigger issues currently impacting players, like another recent bout with a duplication glitch in ARC Raiders. The store update for July 22 makes a big announcement regarding matchmaking, seemingly putting an even greater importance on playstyle.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
While Embark Studios admitted that ARC Raiders does factor in playstyle during matchmaking, this latest update seemingly pushes things even further. Based on player feedback, Embark has made further tweaks to how matchmaking works in order to improve match quality. While matchmaking time may increase, the result should be players being matched with others that better match playstyle and squad size for a hopefully more fair and enjoyable raid. Embark also indicates that it will continue to rely on player feedback plus matchmaking metric data to potentially make further adjustments as needed.
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Image via Embark Studios -
Image via Embark Studios -
Image via Embark Studios
Alongside the matchmaking change, the July 21 update also adds 2 new colors for the Torpedo set, black and camo. For those that already own the set, the colors will be automatically unlocked. For others, the fourth expedition also kicked off, letting players earn a mystery reward for restarting their character.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Easy (120s)Medium (90s)Hard (60s)
In addition to the matchmaking change, players have continued to request Embark add a PvE-style mode of some sort. In a strange twist of fate, Embark added a new PvE mode to The Finals as part of its newest season, not the game many were hoping or expecting. While ARC Raiders players continue to wait for the anticipated October content drop, The Finals received a PvE bot battle mode for its Cashout game mode, letting players team up with NPC bots or a team of humans versus bot opponents. There are no restrictions either, as players can continue to complete quests and earn full XP for playing this mode like the others.
- Released
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October 30, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen / Violence, Blood, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
