In May, Jean Tyulegenov, former Lead Game Designer at Battlestate Games and the most important person at the studio behind Nikita Buyanov, left the company to head towards an all-new project. He’d been a pivotal part of the driving force behind Escape from Tarkov for years, and his departure came as a surprise, even if Tyulegenov wasn’t as prolific as Buyanov.
Now, in an exclusive interview, Tyulegenov has admitted why he left Battlestate Games after more than a decade, and after such an important delivery. He resigned from his role mere months after Battlestate Games finally pushed Tarkov into a 1.0 state and began preparing for the future.
Seeking Greater Challenges
Jean Tyulegenov has found a new home at Nomion Games and will be working on Rush is Real, an all-new shooter, alongside Dmitri Ogorodnikov and German Terekhov, also of former Battlestate Games fame. He’s helping to piece together a game like no other, which the team has started hyping up across social media.
In a recent interview, Tyulegenov reminisced about his time at Battlestate Games, leading the development of the most important extraction shooter ever made: Escape from Tarkov.
He ultimately became responsible for pioneering some of the game’s most memorable additions and innovations, but after nine years at the studio, it was time to move on.
Speaking on why he left Battlestate Games, Tyulegenov admitted:
I want to create new things.
As we know, after 10 years of development, Escape from Tarkov finally hits its release. The project is fully formed, and moving forward, it’ll just be patches; there can’t be anything conceptually new there anymore.
Simply working on straightforward, predictable tasks, that’s not for me.
My priorities are different now.
I want to spend my time on ideas that actually have a shot at changing the fabric of reality for modern video games.
That’s essentially where my relationship with Battlestate Games came to an end.
He’s now the Creative Director at Nomion Games, where, as he says, his role is to ‘try and rebuild the core mechanism of player motivation.’ It’s all about taking a brand-new mechanic that no game has ever had before and ’embedding that mechanic into familiar shooting, progression, and so on.’
It’s hugely ambitious, and it sounds fantastic.
In a bold statement, Tyulegenov highlighted that Rush is Real is his baby:
The idea for this game is mine. The concept actually came to me while I was still working on Escape from Tarkov. It just wasn’t possible to implement it there, so we decided to start our own studio and build a new game.
Rush is Real endeavours to be game-changing, presenting players with a ‘source of support’, a ‘source of emotion’, and a community for gamers worldwide to connect with. He said, ‘If it helps even a hundred players, I’ll be happy.’
Nomion Games is yet to reveal much about Rush is Real, but given time, it’ll come.
Are you looking forward to seeing what Jean Tyulegenov and the team do at Nomion Games with Rush is Real? Let us know your thoughts on the Insider Gaming Discord server.
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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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