{"id":2224045,"date":"2026-10-28T11:58:27","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:58:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2224045"},"modified":"2026-10-28T11:58:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:58:27","slug":"we-need-to-understand-what-the-need-is-here-arc-raiders-studio-still-undecided-about-the-future-of-pve-despite-a-seemingly-successful-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2224045","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;We need to understand what the need is here&#8221; &#8211; Arc Raiders studio still undecided about the future of PvE despite a seemingly successful test"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/arc-raiders\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      ARC Raiders<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">&#8220;We need to understand what the need is here&#8221; &#8211; Arc Raiders studio still undecided about the future of PvE despite a seemingly successful test<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">&#8220;Perhaps this is more a signal that the game could support more player types.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Arc-Raiders_Riven-Tides-skins.png?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Arc Raiders - Riven Tides skins\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Arc-Raiders_Riven-Tides-skins.png\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Embark Studios<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/sherif-saed\">Sherif Saed<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Senior Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-10-28T11:58:27+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Oct. 28, 2026, 11:58 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"header_actions\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"6bd46880-2f1c-43d7-b873-ed10ed59c226\" data-name=\"ARC Raiders\" data-follow-text=\"Follow ARC Raiders\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following ARC Raiders\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow ARC Raiders\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following ARC Raiders\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow ARC Raiders\" title=\"Follow ARC Raiders\"><br \/>\n  Follow ARC Raiders<br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n  <a class=\"button outline wide preferred_source_button\" data-component=\"preferred-source-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=eurogamer.net\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"logo\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\nPrioritise us on Google  <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/arc-raiders\">Arc Raiders<\/a> recently ended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-pve-matchmaking-test\">its first-ever test for a dedicated PvE mode<\/a>, following months of player requests. While feedback has generally been favourable, developer Embark has gone quiet about whether the mode will return as a permanent addition.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a reason for that: Embark doesn&#8217;t appear to have made a decision internally. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/mp1st.com\/news\/arc-raiders-dev-on-potential-pve-mode-future-the-challenge-is-not-undermining-the-premise-of-the-game\">MP1st<\/a>, executive producer Aleksander Gr\u00f8ndal said the team is currently looking through the data and there are several factors to consider.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now that we&#8217;ve concluded the PvE matchmaking toggle test, we&#8217;re doing a deep dive into what that means,&#8221; said Gr\u00f8ndal. &#8220;Of course, we were a bit skeptical about bringing such a mode to the game for historical reasons, but now we need to discuss what we want to do going forward.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;historical reasons&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal is likely referring to is the fact Arc Raiders started out as a purely PvE co-op shooter, before Embark pivoted during development and created the extraction PvPvE shooter we know today.<\/p>\n<p>Since Arc Raiders&#8217; release, however, two different audiences emerged: players who love the uncertainty and higher stakes excitement PvP creates, and those who simply want to engage with the game&#8217;s deep PvE mechanics without having to worry about other players.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think the game has an appeal in its nature and that a certain player type wants to play the game without the stress, you know? Perhaps this is more a signal that the game could support more player types, and we need to figure out how to support that,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge, according to Gr\u00f8ndal, is creating something that caters to the two different groups of players &#8220;without undermining the premise of the game itself&#8221;. To do that, Embark needs to find the PvE mode&#8217;s true purpose.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We need to understand what the need is here,&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal explained. &#8220;Is it more a chill side mode you can play between more intense PvPvE rounds? Is it more a challenge mode that you can test your skills against AI? Or perhaps it&#8217;s a full experience with PvE only?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Gr\u00f8ndal previously said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-pve-pvp-split-possible-executive-producer\">offering two distinct modes for Arc Raiders&#8217; different audiences is a possible future for the game<\/a>, so all options are seemingly being considered, even if the developer can&#8217;t offer a concrete answer today. &#8220;All options will have different implications on how we build future game updates,&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-frozen-trails-player-numbers-six-month-high\">Arc Raiders recently released its biggest update, Frozen Trail<\/a>, which saw player numbers shoot up to highs the extraction shooter hasn&#8217;t witnessed in six months.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/arc-raiders\">Arc Raiders<\/a> recently ended <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-pve-matchmaking-test\">its first-ever test for a dedicated PvE mode<\/a>, following months of player requests. While feedback has generally been favourable, developer Embark has gone quiet about whether the mode will return as a permanent addition.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s a reason for that: Embark doesn&#8217;t appear to have made a decision internally. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/mp1st.com\/news\/arc-raiders-dev-on-potential-pve-mode-future-the-challenge-is-not-undermining-the-premise-of-the-game\">MP1st<\/a>, executive producer Aleksander Gr\u00f8ndal said the team is currently looking through the data and there are several factors to consider.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now that we&#8217;ve concluded the PvE matchmaking toggle test, we&#8217;re doing a deep dive into what that means,&#8221; said Gr\u00f8ndal. &#8220;Of course, we were a bit skeptical about bringing such a mode to the game for historical reasons, but now we need to discuss what we want to do going forward.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The &#8220;historical reasons&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal is likely referring to is the fact Arc Raiders started out as a purely PvE co-op shooter, before Embark pivoted during development and created the extraction PvPvE shooter we know today.<\/p>\n<p>Since Arc Raiders&#8217; release, however, two different audiences emerged: players who love the uncertainty and higher stakes excitement PvP creates, and those who simply want to engage with the game&#8217;s deep PvE mechanics without having to worry about other players.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think the game has an appeal in its nature and that a certain player type wants to play the game without the stress, you know? Perhaps this is more a signal that the game could support more player types, and we need to figure out how to support that,&#8221; he explained.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge, according to Gr\u00f8ndal, is creating something that caters to the two different groups of players &#8220;without undermining the premise of the game itself&#8221;. To do that, Embark needs to find the PvE mode&#8217;s true purpose.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We need to understand what the need is here,&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal explained. &#8220;Is it more a chill side mode you can play between more intense PvPvE rounds? Is it more a challenge mode that you can test your skills against AI? Or perhaps it&#8217;s a full experience with PvE only?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Gr\u00f8ndal previously said that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-pve-pvp-split-possible-executive-producer\">offering two distinct modes for Arc Raiders&#8217; different audiences is a possible future for the game<\/a>, so all options are seemingly being considered, even if the developer can&#8217;t offer a concrete answer today. &#8220;All options will have different implications on how we build future game updates,&#8221; Gr\u00f8ndal added.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/arc-raiders-frozen-trails-player-numbers-six-month-high\">Arc Raiders recently released its biggest update, Frozen Trail<\/a>, which saw player numbers shoot up to highs the extraction shooter hasn&#8217;t witnessed in six months.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News ARC Raiders &#8220;We need to understand what the need is here&#8221; &#8211; Arc Raiders studio still undecided about the future of PvE despite a seemingly successful test &#8220;Perhaps this is more a signal that the game could support more player types.&#8221; Image credit: Embark Studios News by Sherif Saed Senior Contributor Published on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2224045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2224045"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2224045\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2224045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2224045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2224045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}