The Tarkov debacle is bad, but even more unbearable for me are the excuses

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Thomas
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Escape from Tarkov is digging its own grave through greed and hypocrisy, comments shooter expert Kevin Elsner.

The Escape from Tarkov community is in turmoil and it’s so serious that some Tarkov streamers are even looking for alternatives 

Since the developers of the popular Extraction shooter, which has been formally in closed beta for seven years, suddenly announced the 250-dollar Unheard Edition, criticism and accusations against the studio have been piling up on social media. At the same time, major competitors are positioning themselves:

For example buyers receive some tangible benefits that fall under the term Pay2Win by almost any definition. If I have the Unheard Edition, for example, I can call for reinforcements in the form of friends in the middle of a battle, carry more loot, have more storage space for items and start with increased skill levels.

These advantages alone are dubious, even downright brazen, and represent a new extreme of monetization  in Tarkov. And then there’s the new PvE mode, in which I can explore the maps, fight enemies and loot completely undisturbed by other players, alone or in co-op. But only if I own the expensive Unheard Edition, of course.

Promises broken, trust squandered

This is particularly shameless towards all those who bought the 150-dollar “Edge of Darkness” (EOD) edition on the premise that “all future DLCs are included for free “, according to the official description of the EOD version from the manufacturer.

Players, of all people, who have spent a lot of money to support Tarkov and be on board with future innovations, are now being asked to pay again – even though they were promised not to do so!

Chief developer Nikita Buyanov addresses the fans after the shitstorm He wants to defuse the situation and explain decisions. He begins with the words:

First of all, I want to make it clear that the PvE mode is not DLC […].

I don’t even need to continue the quote to realize that: This is blatant word-smithing and the term “DLC” is simply being reinterpreted with new framing in order to get at the players’ wallets again.

The truth is: The new PvE mode fulfills pretty much every common definition of “DLC” in the industry. Developer Battlestate Games isn’t interested in transparency or honesty in the debate, instead alienating its most loyal followers and EOD purchasers with almost blatant greed.

Excuses that make you angry

What makes me even more suspicious, however, is Buyanov’s second statement: The new PvE mode runs on its own server infrastructure and there is currently “not enough capacity to supply all EOD owners.” This may be true from a technical perspective

But why doesn’t the studio develop the necessary capacity first and only roll out PvE when the servers are available? Instead, the community is divided into a supposed elite, who are willing to pay even more, and the EOD buyers, who are now left out in the cold with their 150 dollar investment.

To calm the waters, Battlestate finally rowed back a little: When Escape from Tarkov leaves the beta, the PvE will also appear free of charge for EOD buyers, according to the new promise. I call that window dressing, because: Nobody knows when Tarkov will move to version 1.0 and looking at the development history so far, it could be years away.

And until then? Well, the Tarkov makers have also created a new framing for their PvE mode and are now simply putting the term “Early Access” in front of it. And Early Access is only available for money, of course! EOD buyers now get a discount. A half-baked solution and a small consolation for all those who were once promised future DLCs for free