ARC Raiders testing PvE toggle in October

Embark Studios is testing a long-requested feature in its extraction shooter ARC Raiders. A PvE toggle will be available for a limited time in October as the studio experiments with how players engage with the game's core loop.

The test runs from October 13-20. When enabled, the PvE toggle queues players into matches where Raiders cannot damage each other. Other players remain visible during exploration, and cooperative play against threats and loot collection continues as normal.

"The intent here is not to test how we can make PvE more challenging or to try new PvE progression, rather it is an attempt to give players an alternative to PvP encounters," Embark Studios wrote in a blog post announcing the test.

The studio has observed steady growth in friendly co-op players since ARC Raiders launched. Following the October test window, Embark will review player feedback and collected data to decide on next steps for the PvE option.