4 January 2026

ARC Raiders Dev Comments on Matchmaking

By newsgame

Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund has confirmed that ARC Raiders uses multiple factors when determining how to put players in lobbies, one of which being their playstyles. By putting players in ARC Raiders lobbies with others who play the game similarly, it allows players to experience more of what they want in the game.

ARC Raiders has taken the extraction shooter genre mainstream. Its release in late 2025 was an enormous success, and the momentum from its huge launch has only continued to gather in the time since. For example, where Battlefield 6 lost 85% of its player base in the first few months, ARC Raiders has retained 91% of its own. For a brand-new IP, it’s incredibly impressive, and it seems like ARC Raiders has some serious staying power right now. It’s a live-service game, so this may depend on the content it releases in the future, but for now, things are looking positive for ARC Raiders.

Best Loadout For Each Map In ARC Raiders

Going topside in ARC Raiders requires a solid loadout to handle both ARC enemies and hostile PvP players.

ARC Raiders Uses Aggression-Based Matchmaking, According to Embark CEO

Speaking to GamesBeat while actually playing the game itself, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund revealed how ARC Raiders matchmaking works in regard to finding players others to play with. “Obviously first it’s skill-based of course,” Söderlund explained. “Then you have solos, duos, and trios. And then we also, since a week ago or so, we introduced a system where we also matchmake based on how prone you are to PvP or PvE. So if your preference is to do PvE and you have less conflict with players… you’ll get more matched up. Obviously it’s not a full science.”

Embark Studios had previously mentioned that ARC Raiders has some sort of stylistic matchmaking, courtesy of art director Robert Sammelin who confirmed the developers “analyse behavior and match accordingly.” However, hearing this is specifically related to how often players take part in PvP and PvE combat offers a greater understanding of how the underlying systems of ARC Raiders work, and it makes a lot of sense. In many survival games in the past, trigger-happy players can be a game-ruining experience for those who want to enjoy the game in their own way. ARC Raiders addresses this by limiting the odds for this to be the case. Of course, there will always be outliers where normally peaceful players shoot first, but at least it won’t be true more often than not. And those players who want a fight will get one with this system, too.

…if your preference is to do PvE and you have less conflict with players… you’ll get more matched up.

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It’s interesting that Söderlund mentions that ARC Raiders‘ matchmaking is skill-based, first and foremost. 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, that Black Ops 7 left skill-based matchmaking behind, a decision that has yielded mixed results. However, with ARC Raiders enjoying significant player retention since its October launch, it would be difficult to argue that its matchmaking systems haven’t been an overwhelming success so far.

Over time, it’s highly likely that the skill gap between hardcore and casual ARC Raiders players will increase. While the lack of organic matchmaking is always going to be a sore spot for some, ensuring that everybody has fun with the game is likely to be better for the long-term health of ARC Raiders. Following this interview, there are still some remaining questions about matchmaking in the game, such as how the game prioritizes parties with mixed-aggression players. It feels unlikely that this will ever get fully answered, as formulas for this kind of thing are usually kept secret. So while not every question has been answered, this is likely as close to a full explanation as players will get.