The viewer numbers of the hardcore shooter are shooting through the roof. What”s causing the renewed hype and why can”t the developers themselves, of all people, take part in it?
Escape from Tarkov (EFT for short) is experiencing a new hype on Twitch. Between 28 and 30 December, viewership of the hardcore FPS game on the streaming platform rose from around 30,000 to over 500,000 at its peak. What”s going on?
Giant patch 0.13 brings new map Streets of Tarkov
One of the reasons for the renewed hype might be patch 0.13. In addition to a multitude of major and minor changes, the update from 28.12.2022 finally brings the new map Streets of Tarkov, long awaited by players, into the game.
The full patch notes have been released by the developers on Twitter:
The installation of patch 0.13.0.0 has begun. The installation will take approximately 6 hours, but may be extended if required. The game will not be accessible during this period. There will be a patch with the wipe.
Patch notes: https://t.co/jShrqF0xam
– Escape from Tarkov (@tarkov) December 28, 2022
The new map should eventually link the previous maps of the game. In the long run, the developers intend to make the world of Tarkov one big open-world map, although the community doubts that it will ever happen.
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Server wipe brings more viewers
Simultaneously with the big update, developer Battlestate has announced a server wipe that completely resets the accounts of all players:inside to zero. After the update, all players – big streamers with thousands of hours of play as well as complete beginners – had the same equipment at their disposal.
Wipes are part and parcel of EFT and are usually announced by the developers at short notice in order to create a special surprise effect. The fact that this strategy works can also be seen in the viewer numbers on Twitch, which skyrocket again after every wipe.
There is also a current drop event on Twitch where you can get free in-game items as a reward for watching certain channels until 7 January. You can find all the info on the (official website of EFT).
EFT developer banned on Twitch
But now the developers of the game, of all people, cannot take part in the current hype on the streaming platform because their official account has been banned from Twitch.
❌ Twitch partner “BattlestateGames” (@bstategames) has been banned! ❌https://t.co/nhPkMtHC3Qtwitch ban secondban partner twitchpartner ✉
– StreamerBans (@StreamerBans) January 1, 2023
At the moment we can only speculate about the reasons for the ban and when the account will be released again by Twitch.
