Arc Raiders players have long been asking for PvE to be added to the game. As a result, the Embark Studios team heard the request and plans to test a separate game mode this month.
It is noteworthy that Arc Raiders was originally just a PvE game. However, during development, the authors came to the conclusion that something was missing — in the end, they decided to add the ability to fight with other players (they switched to the PvPvE format).
Executive Producer Aleksander Grondal, in an interview with GamesRadar, shared that the team wondered if the appearance of a separate PvE mode could divide the audience:
The community is already divided into two camps. Perhaps, over time, this will be reflected in the game itself. I think it's important to respect how players want to play Arc Raiders, even if it doesn't quite align with how we originally envisioned the game [...].
The authors of Arc Raiders want to conduct a limited test to collect data and see what players say about this mode. Then they will decide “how best to move forward.”
The testing of the PvE mode in Arc Raiders will take place from October 13 to 20. Earlier this month, a major update 2.0 Frozen Trail was released for the game, which added a new map, equipment, several types of enemies, and a full-fledged battle pass to the game.