A Different Kind of Extraction Shooter
Arc Raiders has been getting attention for one big reason. It is a more relaxed extraction shooter compared to the usual sweaty, high stress games in the genre. That is not an accident. The developers at Embark Studios have built the game from the ground up to encourage a less hostile style of play, and that even includes how the matchmaking works.
In an interview with Games Beat, Embark CEO Patrick Söderlund explained that Arc Raiders is not really designed as a pure player versus player experience. You can absolutely fight other players if you want to, but the game is not meant to be a constant shoot on sight warzone. Instead, PvP is there mainly to add tension. Other players are always a potential threat, but not always the main objective.
This philosophy has led to a very unusual matchmaking system that looks not only at skill, but also at how aggressive or peaceful you tend to be in game.
How Aggression Based Matchmaking Works
Most online games that use matchmaking focus on things like your win rate, your kill to death ratio, or your rank. That is the standard version of skill based matchmaking. Arc Raiders does that too, but it adds a second layer that tries to understand how you actually behave in a match.
Söderlund described it as a system that matches players based on how prone they are to PvP or PvE. In simple terms, if you usually avoid conflicts with other players and focus more on fighting AI enemies and completing objectives, the game will try to put you in lobbies with similar players. If you are the type who loves hunting down other players at every opportunity, the system will lean toward putting you with similarly aggressive players.
We do not have the exact details of what the system tracks. It could involve things like:
- How often you initiate combat with other players instead of AI enemies
- How frequently you extract after PvE focused runs compared to PvP heavy runs
- How many fights you walk away from or avoid altogether
Söderlund was clear that it is not an exact science. It is still primarily skill based first and foremost, with this aggression layer used as an extra signal to help shape the overall experience.
What This Means For Different Playstyles
For more peaceful players, this system could be a big deal. In many extraction shooters, players who just want to focus on PvE often end up frustrated because they are constantly hunted by ultra aggressive squads. Arc Raiders is trying to give those players a better time by increasing the odds that they run into other players who are also more interested in exploration, PvE, and survival rather than nonstop PvP.
In theory, that means:
- More matches where encounters with other players are tense but not always instantly hostile
- More opportunities for risk and reward decisions where you decide whether to engage, avoid, or cooperate
- Less pressure for every player to play like a hardcore PvP grinder
On the flip side, this system could also make life more intense for the aggressive players. If you rush out of the gate every match trying to wipe other squads as fast as possible, the matchmaking will tend to throw you in with others who have that same bloodthirsty mindset. That could lead to very high pressure lobbies where early fights are almost guaranteed.
There are also some interesting questions about how reactive the system is. For example, if someone plays like a complete pacifist for 20 matches in a row, could they expect to end up in lobbies full of chilled out players who mostly ignore each other? Or if an aggressive player suddenly dials it back, how long does it take for the system to recognize that change?
The developers have not answered those specifics, and that is probably intentional. If players knew exactly how it worked, some would immediately start gaming the system to get easier lobbies.
Could This Change The Feel Of Extraction Shooters?
A lot of what makes games like Arc Raiders exciting is the uncertainty around other players. When you spot someone in the distance you do not know if they will try to kill you on sight, watch you from afar, or simply mind their own business. That unknown intention is where a lot of the tension comes from.
If aggression based matchmaking works too well, there is a risk that it could smooth out that tension. If peaceful players almost always end up surrounded by other peaceful players, then seeing a stranger might stop being scary and just feel routine. On the other hand, it might make the game more approachable for a wider audience, which is clearly part of Embark's goal.
Other games have experimented with using matchmaking to handle behavior, usually by clustering toxic players together so they do less harm to everyone else. What Arc Raiders is doing is a bit different. It is less about punishing bad behavior and more about sorting players by their preferred playstyle and threat level.
For PC gamers who are tired of extraction shooters that feel like pure PvP arenas, this approach might be refreshing. It hints at a future where more online games consider not just how skilled you are, but what kind of experience you actually want when you hit the queue button.
We will have to wait and see how Arc Raiders evolves over time and whether this system actually delivers on the promise of more chill runs for those who want them and higher stakes shootouts for those who crave action. Either way, it is an intriguing experiment in how matchmaking can shape the feel of a game without changing any of the core mechanics.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/games/third-person-shooter/arc-raiders-dev-says-it-uses-aggression-based-matchmaking-to-pair-bloodthirsty-pvp-minded-players-with-each-other/
