Embark Studios published a deep dive into the ARC Raiders matchmaking system — in response to heated community discussion. The system has two goals: fairness (matching players with equal chances of success, including equal squad sizes) and fun — players are more often matched with a similar play style.
Play style isn't "friendly" versus "shoot on sight" but a continuous scale, with most players somewhere in the middle. The system raises the odds of meeting similar players but guarantees nothing — unpredictability remains part of the game. The developers debunked myths: loadout, post-round feedback, looting downed players and cross-play don't affect matchmaking.
Following feedback, two changes were made: self-defense is no longer treated as starting a fight, and low-activity rounds now have less impact on your play-style profile. Both changes are already live.