Embark just dropped the PvE toggle beta for ARC Raiders on Oct 13 and the doubters are eating crow while the Steam numbers climb back up. Destructoid's Pedro Peres straight-up bought the game because of it, calling the no-PvP runs therapeutic loot goblin heaven with his pet rooster Scrappy. The test runs through Oct 20 with zero player damage, lower loot values, and some modes locked out, but players are queuing up anyway to chill with the ARCs instead of getting ganked.

Hotfix 2.1.1 rolled out overnight on Oct 16 patching locked room access and item dupes that were letting griefers and exploiters run wild. Embark has been hammering duplication bugs since launch with bans and item wipes, and the new fix keeps the economy from getting completely cooked during the test. Steam concurrent peaked near 185K after the Frozen Trail 2.0 update and free weekend, with current numbers hovering 70K-100K range as the PvE option pulls in fresh and returning raiders.

X is split between PvP purists who miss the tension and the PvE crowd loving the low-pressure scavenging, but the data shows both sides are playing. Embark's monitoring queue times and loot balance before deciding what sticks after the 20th. Skeptics converted, dupes dead, numbers up — classic Embark W when they actually listen.