Overview
Stockholm-based video game developer, founded 2018 by former EA/DICE executives including CEO Patrick Söderlund. Developer of Arc Raiders, a PvPvE extraction shooter that has drawn attention for its unusually cooperative player community and its production-deployed “aggression-based matchmaking” system — a documented attempt to design social cooperation into a shooter’s matchmaking infrastructure.
Key Facts
- Founded 2018 in Stockholm; CEO Patrick Söderlund (formerly EA) Arc Raiders aggression-based matchmaking — PC Gamer
- Developer of Arc Raiders, a PvPvE extraction shooter
- Deployed an aggression-based matchmaking system in a late-2025/early-2026 backend update Arc Raiders aggression-based matchmaking — PC Gamer
- Art director Robert Sammelin has publicly commented on player cooperation levels exceeding developer expectations Arc Raiders devs uplifted by player kindness — PC Gamer
- Maps include Dam Battlegrounds, Buried City, Stella Montis (notable for higher PvP intensity)
Newsletter Relevance
Embark is a case study in designing for cooperation as a production-shipped feature — not a marketing talking point. Their matchmaking system is a rare documented instance of algorithmic sorting by inferred behavioral propensity in a commercial shooter. This matters for game-theory writing and for broader discussions of algorithmic governance: if a game company can sort players by “prone-to-violence” metrics at scale, the infrastructure for larger-scale behavioral classification exists.
Connections
- Arc Raiders — flagship product
- Patrick Söderlund — CEO
- Robert Sammelin — art director
- Aggression-Based Matchmaking — their implemented system
- Cooperative Game Design — design philosophy
Source Appearances
- Arc Raiders devs uplifted by player kindness — PC Gamer — Sammelin on player cooperation
- Arc Raiders aggression-based matchmaking — PC Gamer — Söderlund confirms the matchmaking system
Open Questions
- Will Embark release telemetry data on the matchmaking system’s effects?
- Does the system’s behavior-sorting approach transfer to other multiplayer titles?
- What are the appeal mechanisms (if any) for players who believe they’ve been mis-sorted?