Now that a full month of Arc Raiders is over, the game has definitely developed a strangely wholesome reputation vis-à-vis player interactions in its PvPvE world. Over the past couple of weeks, though, the community has stumbled onto something rather unexpected — platform matters.
Multiple Arc Raiders players across Reddit and Discord have been running their own "studies," toggling crossplay on and off, and comparing console lobbies with PC-only ones. The results have been interesting, and more importantly, rather consistent.
Arc Raiders players ran tests on PC and PS5 lobbies
PC players are apparently more open to listening first
Over the past couple of weeks, Arc Raiders players have basically run a bunch of unofficial "studies" on friendliness across platforms, and the results are... not what anyone expected. Multiple Reddit posts, clips, and anecdotes all seem to paint the same picture — the moment players turn crossplay off, Arc Raiders becomes a noticeably calmer, kinder, and more communicative place.
One of the more viral posts had two brothers — one on PC, and one on the PS5 — run the exact same routes for a week, logging every encounter. The PC player reported around 69% neutral-to-friendly interactions, while on the console side, that number was around 33%. I remember coming across the post-cum-study an hour after it was posted. People laughed at it, but by the next morning, dozens of players had chimed in, saying, "Yeah, that tracks," sharing their own stories of switching to PC-exclusive lobbies and suddenly getting waved at, teamed up with, or just... left alone.
Look, it's not scientific, of course, but it certainly is real. The general consensus is that PC-only lobbies self-filter for chill players who actually use voice chat, the voice wheel, or just common sense, sometimes. After all, around 20% of the game's Steam player count hasn't even knocked out a single raider yet, which is certainly a huge number for a game that allows (and sometimes encourages) PvP.
I tested PC-only lobbies myself
I had to see for myself if PC players really are friendlier
Watching multiple posts across three different Arc Raiders subreddits about how PC players are apparently friendlier got me highly curious. So, I decided to test it out myself, and shut off crossplay in the game. With PC-only lobbies now on the menu, matchmaking times weren't affected at all, which I was certainly thankful for. The difference, however, wasn't clear at first. The people I ran into were friendly as usual, but I also got the same number of shoot-at-sight opponents while I went about my business with nothing but a wrench.
It wasn't until I entered Stella Montis, the game's newest map, which is heavily PvP-focused, that I actually saw the difference. Where I used to get into at least 5 or 6 PvP encounters per match, almost every single person I met had proximity chat on, and they were all happy to let me pass, calling for stalemates. I even met someone who allowed me to take screenshots for this piece while not having prox chat, but instead using the emote wheel heavily to keep communication alive.
After 15 whole matches with crossplay on, and another 10 with it turned off in the new map, it was definitely clear that the PC-only lobbies, even in the deadliest PvP-heavy map, were friendlier, and matched me alongside a lot more players who were open to hearing and helping me out. Of course, there were rats and extraction campers along the way, but those are an ever-present part of any extraction shooter.
Why is this the case, then?
Could it just be a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point?
Why does this happen? Honestly, the theories do make a lot of sense. First, PCs are expensive, which naturally filters out a chunk of the chaos demographic. Fewer kids, fewer shriekers, and fewer "my-mom-just-called-me-for-dinner" ambushes. Then, there's the headset factor. PC players are far more likely to have a decent mic setup, which means proximity chat suddenly becomes usable, charming, and very readily available in the game, even while you're in the middle of a fight.
The biggest factor, though, I think, is expectations. Once you turn off crossplay, you go in expecting calmer lobbies, which means you, yourself, play calmer. You holster the gun earlier. You say "don't shoot!" with genuine hope instead of blind panic. You're more open to teaming up. And when everyone else in the lobby is doing the same thing, that optimism becomes self-fulfilling.
Before you know it, a PvPvE extraction shooter transforms into a collaborative hiking trip with strangers who just happen to be as armed as you are.
PvP is a lot more intense in PC lobbies
I definitely got skill checked in the few encounters I ran into
The funniest part of all this has to be the fact that the PvP instantly got way tougher the moment I switched to PC-only hobbies. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I really have gotten used to winning every PvP fight in Arc Raiders, but now, I definitely died more times in one weekend than I have in the entire month since release. This was a skill-check, reminding me that mice and keyboards on the PC prove to present a significantly tougher challenge when it comes to skirmishes with other raiders while you're Topside.
PC-only Arc Raiders lobbies are definitely friendlier. They're also way more cracked. People peek faster, throw cleaner grenades, and more than a few players slide cancel like they're auditioning for a montage. The headshots have been hitting clean on my temple, too. It felt like I had suddenly ramped up the difficulty setting in a game that has none, and by the gods, I loved it. Nothing humbles you like realizing that your PvP win streak was built entirely on the back of crossplay.
The players I'm now running into may very well be more open to teaming up and being amiable, but there's also the knowledge that by and large, these players will prove much more adept at finishing me off if guns were drawn the next moment.
All of these observations only apply for solo players
In team modes, keep those guns at the ready
It's important to underline something clearly here: these cozy, heartwarming "PC is friendlier" observations only apply to solos. The moment you queue into duos or trios, all that goodwill evaporates faster than your Medium Shield under a Torrente barrage. Teams modes are a completely different ecosystem. They're louder, they're sweatier, twitchier, and far more ruthless.
In solos, feel free to holster your gun and give someone the benefit of the doubt, because there's always more than a fifty-fifty chance that you'll find a peaceful resolution. In teams, however, you're better off forgetting it. If three guys roll up on you, they are not here for a calm discussion about what guns you have. Guns are out, comms are tight, and everyone is a threat. Even the friendliest PC-only raiders will flip the switch the moment they are backed by teammates, and I know that because I'm one of those players. Squads don't do pacifism. They do shoot-at-sight.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 87/100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 30, 2025
- ESRB
- Teen / Violence, Blood, In-Game Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
- Embark Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Embark Studios
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Genre(s)
- Extraction, Shooter, Third-Person Shooter, Survival
The facts aren't scientific, but also impossible to ignore
If toggling a setting makes the game a little kinder, that's a win in my book.
At the end of the day, this isn't science, and it isn't specific. Arc Raiders is not turning into Stardew Valley all of a sudden just because you flipped a setting and stuck to PC lobbies. But the trend is impossible to ignore. PC-only lobbies genuinely feel different.
They are friendlier, more communicative, and also infinitely more dangerous when fights break out. Still, if toggling one setting makes the wasteland a little kinder, well, then that's a win in my book.
