Escape from Tarkov has been on the market for almost a decade. In that time, it has firmly established a position as the best and most popular extraction shooter ever made, and it has inspired the creation of many similar games over the years.
That doesn’t sit well with everyone, though. Many have suggested that the ‘extraction shooter’ boom is akin to the battle royale boom of a few years ago, when every developer in the world seemed to want to make one.
New Blood Interactive’s co-founder, Dave Oshry, is one of those people.
‘Everything Needs to be an Extraction Shooter’
Dave Oshry co-founded New Blood Interactive in 2014, working first on VR games before pivoting to focus on general games like Dusk and Rise of the Triad. Recently, Oshry appeared on a podcast called Quad Damage, spending an hour and a half talking about his experiences with games and what he’s working on.
Talk turned to extraction shooters following the point being raised about FromSoftware’s recent reveal of The Duskbloods, a PvPvE multiplayer title.
It’s the latest in a long line of similar games to emerge in recent years, but Dave Oshry is tired of this trend. He has labelled the popularity and rampant success of Escape from Tarkov as the culprit:
You’ve seen the posts, like Miyazaki has been playing Tarkov.
Tarkov has done irreparable f***ing damage to the games industry. Everything needs to be a f***ing – what are they called – extraction shooter.
I just like regular-ass games, but I’m old, I get it. I’m not the target audience for these games anymore.
(Thanks to GamesRadar for the spot)
The Duskbloods isn’t an extraction shooter, but it maintains a balance between that genre and other verticals, like battle royale games. It’s a similar story to Gray Zone Warfare, which emerged in 2024 as a tactical, open-world FPS with extraction elements.
It was just days ago that Bungie revealed Marathon, yet another extraction shooter looking to make it big in the space. Like other developers, Bungie has tried to introduce something unique to the mix to make Marathon stand out, and the kicker here is that the game promises to be the most accessible extraction shooter around.
Admittedly, extraction shooters are extremely exciting, and if done right, they offer a gameplay loop that can be intensely satisfying – or absolutely soul-crushing. They tap into addiction centres in the brain and present almost an opportunity to gamble, with players never knowing how their next run will go.
That’s how Escape from Tarkov has stayed on top for so long.
Do you think Escape from Tarkov has ruined the industry by inspiring so many extraction shooters? Let me know in the comments, or hit the team up on the Insider Gaming forum.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Oblivion Remastered references have been found on the Bethesda site
Grant has been gaming for 30+ years and in the industry for 10+. You'll probably find him playing a post-apocalyptic game or an extraction shooter somewhere.
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