Arc Raiders to test PvE toggle in October
Embark Studios will let Arc Raiders players avoid rival raiders for a week in October.
The developer announced a PvE toggle test running from 13 to 20 October 2026. Players can switch between standard matchmaking, the system that groups players into an online session, and a PvE option with only computer-controlled threats. The plan was set out in an announcement titled "We're testing a PvE Toggle: here's what it means for you" Embark Studios.
PVE means player-versus-environment, where you face the game itself rather than other people. PVP means player-versus-player, where rival players can hunt you down. The toggle makes that choice clear before each run.
Here is how it will work. The toggle sits on the deployment screen. Flip it one way for the usual mixed session. Flip it the other for a session without hostile players.
Team sizes will mix together in the test. Solos, duos and trios will share the same lobbies, which are the shared sessions that hold each match. That means a lone player and a three-person squad can land in the same game. You can organise as you like and still play the same version.
Not everything carries across. Four named map conditions — Night Raids, Hidden Bunker, Locked Gate and Frigate — will stay in standard matchmaking only, according to GameSpot. Players who want those variants will need to keep PvP switched on. The choice is yours each time you deploy.
Embark said 37% of Arc Raiders players are cooperative-only raiders who avoid PvP encounters. That is more than one in three players. The test is aimed directly at how that group behaves when the threat from other people is removed.
There is no promise of a lasting change. Embark has described the October run as a test, with no guarantee a permanent PvE mode will follow. Feedback and data from the week will shape what happens next.
The timing is tight. The Frozen Trail update is scheduled for release on 8 October, just five days before the PvE test starts. Players will get new material to explore, then a different way to explore it.
For players, this means a low-pressure week to try risky routes and learn the maps. Bring a friend or go alone, and see what the game feels like without watching over your shoulder.
