Arc Raiders could get a permanent PvE mode without much technical trouble, according to the people running it. The catch is everything else. In an interview with The Game Business, reported by GamesRadar+ and PC Gamer, Patrick Söderlund said Embark "could just frankly add PvE." He also explained why the studio hasn't, and GamesRadar+ notes Embark has yet to say a permanent mode is coming.
A quick sourcing note: Xarmo couldn't check The Game Business interview directly, so the quotes here are as those two outlets report them. They differ in one spot, flagged below.
Why Embark held back
It helps to know how the loop is built. Arc Raiders is a PvPvE game, and PC Gamer explains the point of that setup: you never know when you're going to be jumped by an ARC machine or another player. Remove the players and you've removed one of those two threats.
That was the studio's worry. Söderlund, in PC Gamer's version of the quote, said Embark didn't want to "obstruct or fiddle too much with the core loop of the game", where the PvP side adds what he called "adequate tension." PC Gamer also quotes the concern that "by removing one substantial component, you're fiddling with the core emotional loop." GamesRadar+ adds some history, noting the game began as a PvE-only project before it pivoted to extraction PvP.
Then Embark ran the experiment. Players could opt into PvE-only rounds for a limited time, and executive producer Aleksander Grøndal gave the headline number: almost 50% of the rounds played during the test were on the PvE server, PC Gamer reports.
Grøndal says the team is still going through that data. He also says the results cut both ways. Some players who asked for PvE changed their minds because it lacked some of the values the game has, and others absolutely loved it.
The word that differs
Söderlund's next line is where the two reports split. GamesRadar+ has him saying the studio tried it and "realized that it's fun," followed by "Why not have it?" PC Gamer has "realised that it's fine." Both agree on what follows: "Maybe people can choose what they like."
GamesRadar+ also reports Söderlund saying the community is so big that "we can't ignore the PvE camp," with the goal being to "do a good enough job to cater to all the player types without watering down the overall experience."
Where that leaves players
Neither report gives a date, a format or a commitment. Grøndal says it's now up to the team to "figure out how we can cater to the specific needs of the players," and not at the expense of the experience's integrity. GamesRadar+ points to the wider questions a permanent mode would raise beyond the technical work, including economy, population, servers and event design.
So if you want PvE, the practical next step is to keep an eye on Embark's own channels for the outcome of that data review. No next step has been confirmed yet.
Beau's take: I wouldn't treat almost 50% as settled demand. A limited-time test will always pull in the curious, and I read Grøndal's point about players changing their minds as a sign of that. If Embark wants a clean answer, it should run PvE a second time, for longer, and see who's still there at the end.
Reporting notes
