If you’re a fan of Escape from Tarkov, you likely know who Nikita Buyanov is. He’s arguably the brainchild behind the entire platform, and in an interview on the Girls of Tarkov podcast, he took a deep dive into all things Streets of Tarkov.
In December, fans are eagerly expecting a ‘wipe’, which is when Escape from Tarkov effectively resets, offering a new game experience to all players. With this wipe, fans are also under the assumption that an all-new, enormous map will be released into the game, named Streets of Tarkov.
From the absolutely massive interview with Nikita, countless tidbits of information were revealed, and it seems as though players will need to wait even longer for Streets of Tarkov.
Will Streets of Tarkov Be Released Next Wipe?
It has been years since Streets of Tarkov was teased, and by today, fans are still held in anticipation of the ultimate release of the map. However, in the interview on the Girls of Tarkov podcast, Nikita suggested that Streets of Tarkov a) won’t launch in full when it is released, and b) it won’t feature anywhere near the level of content that they’ve been discussing.
Nikita spoke at length about the difficulty posed by crafting such an enormous map, especially when it comes to optimising the environment to give a stable experience to fans. In 2021, the Lighthouse map was released and owing to its size, it created performance issues for many players.
The city itself is quite large, and we designed it in such a way that we could gradually expand the Streets of Tarkov. The first iteration will be the part of the location that’s closer to the center, without the suburbs.
Nikita Buyanov
There are lofty ambitions in place for Streets of Tarkov, but for the ‘first iteration’, Nikita discussed the potential for almost a ‘dumbed down’ version to be released. This would be stripped of ‘bosses and some mechanics’, it would feature bog-standard exits and exploration opportunities, and planned features would simply become part of a broader roadmap.
Why is Streets Such a Huge Task?
Streets of Tarkov has been the most major goal imaginable for Battlestate Games for several years. It serves as the epitome of Escape from Tarkov – a step closer to the full release past the beta product that encapsulates everything they’ve desired for so long now in this PvPvE epic.
There were several key points that Nikita spoke about, some of which are remarkably interesting to an Escape from Tarkov fan:
- Streets will feature a BTR with a mounted gun that players can pay to use.
- There are considerations in place for destructible environments, creating new avenues of opportunity in combat.
- Battlestate Games plans on making it tougher to physically extract from maps, starting with Streets.
- Labs will no longer be accessible from the menu, and instead, players will need to access it from Streets.
- There are expectations that up to one hundred entities (players and NPCs) will be live on Streets at any one time.
- Streets will boast unparalleled verticality, with players having the ability to sit on rooftops hundreds of feet in the air.
It’s an ambitious task, and it highlights quite clearly why it has taken Battlestate Games so long to produce the map and make all these changes.
What Else did Nikita Reveal?
Let’s wrap up with a crash course on some of the juiciest information Nikita revealed in his interview.
Firstly, Nikita confirmed there are many ‘back-end’ changes coming to Tarkov, such as the ability to share weapon presets, and all-new features coming to the hideout. It’s suggested that this will include a) a cat, and b) the ability to passively level up strength skills.
There’s a plan in place to expand player statistics and data, both at the end of a raid and in general. By way of a response to the more intense fans, Battlestate plans to implement a Hardcore mode. There are new bosses coming, Arena is apparently on track and looking good, and it will feature a one-vs-one mode.
This was quite possibly the most in-depth discussion we’ve ever seen regarding Escape from Tarkov. While there’s still plenty of legwork yet to be done, it’s a promising prospect to see that so much is planned for the future.
If you’re a fan of the extraction shooter genre, consider reading up on Activision’s break into the scene, DMZ.
