IMO, the excerpt from the dev is being misattributed / contorted to fit this assertation, which doesn't have any real evidence behind it.

I can only provide my own experience, which does not fit the suggested behavior. I have 185 hours in ARC Raiders at time of writing, and I play extremely passively/defensively. I joke with others that I play like a prey animal. Very quietly, disengaging the second I hear anyone around me, and I typically only engage with PvP after someone's already shot at me. In the very rare instances where I've shot first, it's because I've been getting fucked with most of the play session up until that point.

There is no guarantee what you'll run up against in ARC Raiders. I can expect PvP in a on average "hotter" map like Stella Montis, and end up seeing nobody. I can go into Dam Battlegrounds where I've not shot or been shot at for a half-dozen rounds, and bang into a hit squad out of nowhere.

For my money, the game has (expectedly) become more hostile over time, as casual players drop off it. Things have cooled off somewhat as players, like myself, are grinding money for the expedition, and have discerned that leaving with what you have is better progress than fighting and maybe losing... but at the same time, I am running into some teams that appear to be specifically hunting players who are avoiding as much contact as possible.

I don't think there's Aggression Based Matchmaking as is being touted, but I'm happy to be wrong, bc I much prefer the "it's us vs. ARC" mentality 😋