Arc Raiders patch 1.36.0 gives solo, duo, and trio queues separate matchmaking profiles

Arc Raiders patch 1.36.0 is live now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, and it delivers what players have been asking for since the game launched: your playstyle is now tracked independently for solo, duo, and trio queues instead of feeding into one shared profile.

The old system meant that playing cooperatively in solos could bleed into your trio matchmaking, and vice versa — so switching squad size would throw off your lobby placement until the system recalibrated. Now each queue has its own profile. You can spend your solo runs farming materials and helping strangers with PvE quests, then flip to full PvP aggression the moment you squad up with friends, and neither mode affects the other. The patch notes, quoted directly by Embark, call it "one of the most requested matchmaking features." The update also addresses two earlier pain points: defending yourself against aggressors no longer counts against your profile, and low-activity rounds carry less weight than they used to.

Arc Raiders launched last October as a PvPvE extraction shooter from Embark Studios, the developer also behind The Finals. Aggression-based matchmaking has been a talking point almost from day one — players initially debated whether it even existed before Embark confirmed it. In May, the studio published a candid post admitting the system needed work and ran a matchmaking survey, so this update is a direct follow-through on that feedback loop. The game sits in a crowded extraction shooter market, and Embark has been notably transparent about iterating on systems that weren't landing.

Alongside the matchmaking overhaul, Expedition 4 is now open, and a crossover event with The Finals kicks off July 9 and runs until July 30. Players who complete specific challenges in The Finals can unlock the Azimuth outfit and Archeologist backpack bundle for Arc Raiders at no extra cost. Community reaction has been warm — the change removes a genuine friction point that was stopping some players from grouping with friends who had different playstyles.