The co-op-only mode is still just a test for now, but Grøndal suggested it may be overdue. He said the studio deliberated for a long time about whether to "open this door". Pressure for a dedicated PvE option has been building almost since launch, and grew after Embark introduced a matchmaking system that prioritised player aggressiveness while also matching players who preferred co-op play and avoiding killing fellow raiders.

Embark had already announced in September an opt-in matchmaking test for a PvE version of the game with none of the usual player-versus-player violence, a response to a growing portion of the playerbase apparently uninterested in hurting their raiders-in-arms.