Escape from Tarkov’s console edition has long been a point of discussion amongst the extraction community. For months, Battlestate Games has openly admitted that the console version is in production, but we don’t at all know to what extent or in what capacity. The leading theory is that it’ll eventually be some kind of ‘Tarkov lite’ version.
When I spoke to Battlestate’s Nikita Buyanov last year, he suggested that they want to retain as much of the core Tarkov feel as possible with a console edition. Now, eagle-eyed players have uncovered another hint to the console edition of Escape from Tarkov on the new Icebreaker map, but it comes with a unique retro twist.
Escape from Tarkov Console Retro Console Reference
Fans probing the new Icebreaker map have uncovered a retro console reference to Escape from Tarkov coming to other platforms. It echoes a joke Nikita Buyanov made a year ago, stating that Escape from Tarkov will come to Game Boy before coming to modern consoles.
In one room on Icebreaker, players have found a replication of a classic PlayStation console alongside a copy of an NES, and in both, there’s a version of Escape from Tarkov waiting to be played.
This is far from being the first time that console replications have popped up in Escape from Tarkov, of course. When you level up your hideout’s rest space far enough, you get a fake PlayStation 4 console with a copy of ‘Call of Call’ sitting beside it. There are also fake copies of Escape from Tarkov on disc littered across the game’s multiple maps.
In October, after the Tokyo Game Show, Nikita was captured on video pledging to deliver a console version of Escape from Tarkov, but again, no prospective release windows were given. In a TarkovTV episode just a few weeks ago, he explained that they’re looking for a partner to help port the game to console, so it’s safe to assume they’re relatively early on in that journey.
Do you want to see Escape from Tarkov come to console? Let us know on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
For more Insider Gaming coverage, check out the news that Fable’s release has been delayed
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.
More from Grant Taylor-Hill
Dude someone really loves Tarkov who works here… It feels like 1 out of every 4 articles is Tarkov related
That would be me! To actually give you a number, we have 700 articles that reference ‘Tarkov’ in some way, out of 20,000, so a bit short of one in four, hah. What can I say, it’s a busy time for the world’s greatest extraction shooter!