Embark Studios just confirmed what Arc Raiders players have been suspecting for weeks. The game’s matchmaking system analyzes your behavior and matches you accordingly, meaning if you’re one of those players who backstabs teammates for their loot instead of fighting the robotic Arc enemies, you’ll soon find yourself in lobbies full of people just like you. Art Director Robert Sammelin revealed this detail in an interview with PC Gamer at The Game Awards, providing the closest confirmation yet that PvP goblins get their own cage match lobbies.
Your Actions Have Consequences
When asked about matchmaking, Sammelin explained that it’s quite complex and they do analyze behavior and match accordingly. While he wouldn’t reveal specific details about how the system works, that statement alone represents a major confirmation for a studio that has kept matchmaking secrets close to its chest. The implication is clear: if you’re the kind of player who waits until teammates are distracted, then shoots them in the back to steal their hard-earned loot, the game remembers.
This behavior-based matchmaking addresses one of the biggest community discussions since Arc Raiders launched. The extraction shooter has become a breakout multiplayer hit at the end of 2025, and a big part of its viral popularity comes from watching clips of players being absolute monsters to each other. Instead of cooperating against the common robotic threat, many Raiders prioritize stealing from other players over actually extracting valuable resources.
Why This Matters for Extraction Shooters
Extraction shooters live and die by their social dynamics. The entire genre revolves around tension between cooperation and betrayal, between trusting random teammates or going solo. Arc Raiders has found surprising success partly because it softens some of the genre’s harsher elements, making it more approachable for players skeptical of hardcore extraction experiences.
Design Director Virgil Watkins explained in a separate interview that approachability became a key design tenet once they pivoted to an extraction game. Everything tries to keep that in mind as long as it doesn’t undermine the core extraction experience. The game includes systems acting as safety nets to soften the blow of failure, like quests that don’t require extraction and a vendor who provides more crafting materials to unlucky players than successful ones.
The Social Experiment in Action
What makes Arc Raiders fascinating is watching the community organically develop unwritten rules about acceptable behavior. Some players strictly adhere to an honor code, only engaging in PvP if attacked first. Others see every encounter as an opportunity for profit, regardless of whether the other player was friendly. The behavior-based matchmaking essentially creates separate ecosystems for these different playstyles.
If you’re a civilized player who cooperates with randoms, completes objectives, and only fights in self-defense, you’ll increasingly find yourself matched with similar players. If you’re a chaos agent who betrays everyone for a chance at better loot, you’ll end up in lobbies where everyone shares that mentality. It’s elegant because it lets both groups enjoy the game their preferred way without forcing one playstyle on everyone.
The Hidden Complexity
What we don’t know is how sophisticated this system actually is. Does it track kill/death ratios against other players versus Arc enemies? Does it monitor how often you extract versus how often you die to PvP? Does it factor in voice chat toxicity or whether you revive downed teammates? Sammelin’s refusal to elaborate suggests the system is far more complex than a simple good/bad binary.
Game Informer’s review praised the artificial intelligence powering Arc behavior as exceptional, noting that machines check corners, change elevation, and trace your scent like hunting dogs. If Embark applied similar behavioral analysis to player matchmaking, the system could be incredibly nuanced in identifying different playstyle patterns beyond just aggressive versus cooperative.
Learning From The Finals
This isn’t Embark’s first rodeo with complex player behavior systems. Their previous game The Finals featured environmental destruction and emergent gameplay that required sophisticated systems to prevent exploitation. CEO Patrick Söderlund has talked about how the studio learned valuable lessons from The Finals about balancing player freedom with maintaining fair, enjoyable experiences.
The behavior-based matchmaking in Arc Raiders represents an evolution of that philosophy. Instead of restricting what players can do, let them do anything but ensure their actions have appropriate consequences. If you want to play like a villain, you can, but you’ll face other villains. If you prefer cooperation, you’ll find cooperators. The game doesn’t judge, it just sorts.
The Long-Term Plan
Sammelin also revealed that Embark has a 10-year plan for Arc Raiders and wants to keep the game alive for the longest time possible. The ambition is continuing development as long as players engage with it and see it evolving in a good way. Games like this will evolve depending on community behaviors, feedback, and how they identify what people engage with most.
This long-term commitment makes the behavior-based matchmaking even more important. Over months and years, player behavior patterns will become increasingly defined. The system will accumulate more data, become better at identifying playstyle preferences, and create more precisely tailored match experiences. What starts as rough sorting between cooperative and aggressive players could evolve into dozens of micro-communities matched by incredibly specific behavioral patterns.
What Players Are Saying
The community response to this revelation has been mixed but mostly positive. Cooperative players feel vindicated knowing that betrayers will eventually face consequences. Aggressive players appreciate that they’ll get matched with opponents who can actually fight back rather than unsuspecting victims. The only real complaints come from players worried about long queue times if the matchmaking gets too granular.
Some players remain skeptical about how well the system actually works. Without transparent details about implementation, it’s impossible to verify whether behavior-based matchmaking is having the intended effect or just a placebo. Embark’s refusal to share specifics might be strategic, preventing players from gaming the system, but it also creates uncertainty about whether your actions truly impact matchmaking.
FAQs
Does Arc Raiders matchmaking track player behavior?
Yes, Embark Studios Art Director Robert Sammelin confirmed that Arc Raiders matchmaking analyzes player behavior and matches accordingly. The system is described as quite complex, though specific details about how it works remain undisclosed.
Will toxic players get matched together in Arc Raiders?
Most likely yes, though Embark hasn’t explicitly confirmed this. The behavior-based matchmaking system suggests that players who frequently betray teammates or prioritize PvP over objectives will be matched with similar players.
What is Arc Raiders?
Arc Raiders is a PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios where players fight robotic Arc enemies while also dealing with other player teams. It launched in late 2025 and has become one of the year’s breakout multiplayer hits.
How does behavior-based matchmaking work?
Embark hasn’t revealed specific details. The system likely tracks various metrics including how often you engage in PvP versus PvE, whether you revive teammates, extraction success rates, and possibly voice chat behavior to determine your playstyle patterns.
Can you play Arc Raiders cooperatively?
Yes, Arc Raiders supports both solo and team play. The game includes systems designed to make it more approachable than traditional hardcore extraction shooters, though PvP encounters with other player teams remain a core part of the experience.
What happens if you backstab teammates in Arc Raiders?
Beyond losing the loot if you fail to extract, the behavior-based matchmaking system will likely match you with other players who engage in similar betrayal tactics in future games.
How long does Embark plan to support Arc Raiders?
Embark has a 10-year plan for Arc Raiders and wants to keep the game alive as long as possible. Art Director Robert Sammelin stated they’ll continue development as long as players stay engaged and the game evolves positively.
Who made Arc Raiders?
Arc Raiders is developed by Embark Studios, founded by former EA executive Patrick Söderlund. The studio previously created The Finals, another successful multiplayer shooter.
Conclusion
Embark Studios’ confirmation of behavior-based matchmaking in Arc Raiders represents a thoughtful solution to one of extraction shooter’s biggest problems: how do you maintain tension and danger without making the game miserable for players who want to cooperate? By letting players engage in whatever behavior they prefer but ensuring they face opponents who match that energy, Arc Raiders creates space for multiple playstyles to coexist. Villains can betray to their heart’s content in lobbies full of other villains. Heroes can cooperate with fellow heroes. And everyone gets the experience they’re actually looking for. Whether this system works as intended remains to be seen, but the philosophy behind it is sound. Your actions have consequences, and in Arc Raiders, those consequences come in the form of who you’ll be matched against next time you drop into the world. So think carefully about whether you really want to shoot that teammate in the back for their purple loot, because karma in Arc Raiders isn’t spiritual, it’s algorithmic.