Arc Raiders Director Confirms Your Behavior Plays A Role In Matchmaking

Arc Raiders players have been trying to decode how the game’s matchmaking system functions ever since before its official release. Even now, there’s still no clear or confirmed explanation of how it actually works. That said, more and more evidence seems to suggest that player behavior and interactions may influence the types of lobbies you end up in.

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It Feels Like How You Treat Other People Affects Matchmaking In Arc Raiders

Journalists at PC Gamer shared observations from their own time spent testing Arc Raiders’ matchmaking. They noted that when they played cooperatively and avoided unnecessary conflict, they were consistently placed into lobbies with other players who were friendly, helpful, and willing to work together. That pattern appeared to hold until they deliberately chose to shoot another player.

Once they crossed that line, everything shifted. The atmosphere of their matches changed noticeably, and the players they encountered became far more aggressive. Instead of cooperative scavenging and mutual survival, the experience turned hostile. Matches became a ruthless struggle, not just against ARC machines, but also against other raiders who had previously been open to cooperation.

After spending some time behaving non-aggressively again and repeatedly indicating that they didn’t enjoy PvP encounters when prompted by the game, the writers eventually found themselves back in calmer, more cooperative lobbies. YouTuber Domi took this idea even further by running an experiment with two separate accounts. One account was played in a consistently friendly, non-hostile manner, while the other leaned heavily into aggressive behavior.

The results were striking. Much like the experience described by PC Gamer, the account that focused on cooperation was matched with players who were more willing to help and coexist. Meanwhile, the aggressive account frequently landed in lobbies where players acted selfishly and prioritized killing other raiders. However, these findings were later accompanied by a community note on Twitter, pointing out that while the observations are compelling, they still don’t amount to definitive proof of how matchmaking operates in Arc Raiders.

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Arc Raiders Developers Won't Confirm What Plays Into Its "Complex Matchmaking

Despite the lack of full transparency, there does appear to be some truth to the theory. Arc Raiders art director Robert Sammelin has stated that the game’s matchmaking system “is quite complex,” adding that the Embark Studios team actively analyzes player behavior and matches players accordingly. When asked to elaborate on what factors are considered, the developers declined to provide further details. Still, the statement strongly suggests that how you interact with strangers in Arc Raiders could influence who you encounter in future matches.

Even if Embark were to outright deny that aggression or friendliness plays a role in matchmaking, many players would likely remain skeptical. Earlier theories proposed that matchmaking was influenced by gear or loadout strength. While the studio has clearly stated that gear does not affect matchmaking, a portion of the community remains unconvinced.

Modern matchmaking systems are often intentionally opaque, and Arc Raiders appears to be no exception. Other games have followed similar paths, with developers taking months to explain how their systems work, and even then leaving players with unanswered questions. What we do know is that Arc Raiders does not use engagement-optimized matchmaking (EOMM). For now, the mystery remains, and players continue to speculate based on their own experiences in the field.