“If Your Preference is PvE, You’ll Get Less Conflict,” Arc Raiders Boss Confirms Aggression-Based Matchmaking

ARC Raiders is undeniably one of the biggest breakout hits of 2025, breathing new life into the extraction shooter genre. With the game’s PvPvE format, players have been facing some extremely tough lobbies while playing. This has led to many players holding SBMM (Skill-Based Matchmaking) responsible for the extremely challenging lobbies they find themselves in. However, according to the ARC Raiders CEO, this doesn’t seem to be the case.

Recently, it was revealed that ARC Raiders employs aggression-based matchmaking. This isn’t exactly a staple in the online gaming industry and has left some players confused about how it functions and impacts their gameplay. Since many players will be jumping into the game after the recent Cold Snap update, this new info can be quite beneficial.

ARC Raiders Boss Explains How Matchmaking Works in the Game

In a recent interview with GamesBeat, Embark Studios CEO Patrick Söderlund tackled the issue of matchmaking in ARC Raiders, stating, “So if your preference is to do PvE and have less conflict with players, you’ll get more matched up [with those players].” He explained how ARC Raiders doesn’t feature typical skill-based matchmaking. Instead, the game studies players’ behaviours and matches them with other players with similar patterns of gameplay.

This means that ARC Raiders doesn’t take elements like K/D ratio and rankings into account when matchmaking players in lobbies. Instead, the game studies what players prefer while playing. If players ignore other players in a lobby and head straight for the objective, you are likely to match with other players who lean towards PvE combat. The same goes for PvP, as if you like to take on other players in your lobbies regularly, you will match with more aggressive players when looking for a game.

Few games currently use this system. Most titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty choose to employ the standard Skill-Based Matchmaking in their games, matching players based on their in-game stats. The aggression-based matchmaking is another way Embark Studios has personalized the experience for its players.

Despite this being an unorthodox approach to matchmaking, I think the feature could work towards ARC Raiders’ longevity as a title. Not only does this system set the game apart from other extraction shooters, but it also gives players agency in relation to the players they encounter during an expedition. As ARC Raiders continues to grow, it will be interesting to see how the aggression-based matchmaking affects the players.