In case you’re not at all connected to the extraction shooter space, you should know that Nikita Buyanov, the head of the studio at Battlestate Games, can be a little confrontational on social media. The prolific developer, who has more than 350,000 followers on Twitter (now X) alone, has long been known for having zero filter when it comes to public-facing comments.
From suggestions on how to improve Escape from Tarkov to condemnation of how Battlestate handles in-game issues, Nikita stares down hundreds of targeted posts and comments every day. Recently, one of those incoming comments was regarding a support ticket for Tarkov, which Nikita responded to in classic fashion.
Inflammatory Isn’t The Word
On social media, Nikita Buyanov found himself, as he often does, sharing teaser clips of upcoming Escape from Tarkov updates. He often shares short mash-ups of real-world scouting, team activities, development footage, and weapons and attachments that are about to land in Escape from Tarkov, the spearhead extraction shooter game.
He did just that on February 21, uploading footage teasing the upcoming Tarkov event that will welcome Icebreaker to the game in a new, super-sized event.
In the comments, one user wrote:
I have been playing this game since 2019 and been supporting in, and im not getting the support i think i should!
Nikita, being a man of the people, took an interest in this user’s comment and asked what he needed from him. Lo and behold, a support ticket reference was handed over, and it took Nikita just an hour to deduce what was going on:
you used radar cheat
The response has since racked up 150,000 impressions, many of which are the result of Nikita’s fans backing him in this very ‘Tarkov-like’ scenario. Many praised Nikita’s transparency and bagged on the original poster for exposing themselves. Shortly after, the player who posted the comment declared they’d never cheated in their lives, but it’s not hard for Battlestate to detect such activity.
Escape from Tarkov has long had a problem with cheaters, which Nikita himself has referred to as fighting a multi-headed hydra. It’s the fight of a lifetime for many multiplayer-focused developers, but Battlestate Games and Escape from Tarkov often get it in the neck more than your average studio.
Of course, Nikita went a bit wavy shortly after, when another user commanded him to get off Twitter and optimise Escape from Tarkov, to which he responded:
don’t f***ing tell me what to do boy. i want to sit on twitter a little, before i will go and personally optimize the game
Nikita.
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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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