ARC Raiders’ Experimental PvE Beta Lets Raiders Team Up Without Friendly Fire Through October 20
Embark Studios is testing a dedicated PvE-only matchmaking toggle for ARC Raiders, running from October 14 through October 20, 2026, on PC and consoles alongside the game’s standard PvEvP modes. The experimental mode matches players only with other humans on separate servers: everyone on your side faces the hostile ARC machines together and simply cannot damage each other, including with stun grenades and incendiaries. Barricades and ziplines still function as normal, and solo players can be grouped with duos and trios to fill squads.
How the PvE Toggle Works
The trade-off is reduced loot value, and a handful of the game’s tenser conditions, including Frigate, Redirection, Hidden Bunker, Night Raid, and Locked Gate, are unavailable while the beta runs. Embark has also warned that matchmaking times could be affected while the toggle is live. The standard PvEvP matchmaking queue remains available the whole time for anyone who’d rather keep the player-versus-player tension intact.
The timing lines up with a high point for the game: the recent Frozen Trail content update pushed ARC Raiders on Steam to its highest concurrent player count since March 2026. Embark says it is “monitoring” how the PvE toggle performs and is asking raiders to share feedback if they want to see a permanent PvE option down the line. Topping up before you drop in? Dragon4Deals stocks Steam Wallet Code (US) and browse the full PC games category for more extraction shooters and co-op picks.
