Since launch, many have criticised Arc Raiders’ “aggression-based matchmaking”, a system that allegedly places aggressive players with likewise aggressive players. However, design lead Virgil Watkins explains that this system is not as “binary” as many claim it to be.
In the past, Watkins has dubbed the community’s term of “aggression-based matchmaking” as a “misnomer” as the system does not “make any value or moral judgements”. While a player’s urge to PvP is one miniscule element behind matchmaking, it’s far from the only system the game relies on.
In a new interview with PC Gamer, Watkins explained that the system is “not nearly as binary as people think,” adding “there’s no such thing as a friendly lobby or an aggressive lobby, the system is still mixing everybody [together].”
Watkins explained that “people do feel as though it’s incredibly binary, and even shooting one raider, one time, just automatically puts you into an aggressive lobby. But that’s not at all how it works.” Nevertheless, the fanbase immediately gripped onto the term “aggression-based matchmaking”, and some have continued to claim that as truth.
Additionally, Watkins confirmed that the game’s frequent post-match surveys don’t have any basis on what your next matches will be like. Some have claimed that surveys have directly influenced future matches, but the designer explained that this simply isn’t true at all.
“Those are just to help us gauge how players felt about the round,” he continued. “They have no mechanical change on what happens to you. It is solely based on your actions in the round.” Instead, Embark are simply using this data to inform balance patches and matchmaking tweaks for future updates.
As for the game’s matchmaking, Watkins explained that “your engagement with PvP is part of the situation”, but it requires a lot of engagement one way or another to make a conceivable difference. Additionally, he explained that putting all aggressive players with each other would be antithetical to the point of Arc Raiders where the game “needs that element of tension and risk from other players to be good”. If you know everyone is aggressive, then that tension is immediately lessened.
In another interview, Watkins also explained that Arc Raiders’ friendly community was a major shock to the developers. While the game was designed to allow players to work together, the designer revealed that people during play tests were “hyper, hyper aggressive” and “never worked together”.
Arc Raiders is prepping for a huge 2026 roadmap with multiple new maps joining the fray. The game’s next major update, Shrouded Sky, is almost upon us, and will add a new map condition, a new ARC threat, and more.
