Recently, Battlestate Games’ studio head, Nikita Buyanov, sat down with Pestily – one of the game’s most prolific content creators – to discuss the future of Escape from Tarkov, the title’s impending 1.0 release, and everything beyond. What he offered was an update like nothing else, fully blowing open the popular extraction shooter and laying out the landscape for the road ahead.
Within an hour, he’d address the game’s 1.0 release, new factions, a ‘prestige’ system, hideout expansions, upcoming DLC, and a slew of other changes and improvements scheduled to hit Tarkov in the coming years.
Strap in – there’s a lot to dig through.
What is Tarkov 1.0?
Escape from Tarkov 1.0 will mark the moment that the game graduates from a beta state and becomes a ‘fully released’ product. It’s a highly anticipated event that’ll see Battlestate Games monumentally overhaul the entire platform – and Nikita Buyanov recently addressed what that’ll look like during an interview with Pestily, which you can watch below.
The long and short of it is a lot is being kept secret for 1.0, but that didn’t stop Nikita from divulging the things he could talk about. Let’s hammer through the top subjects and key questions players are asking ahead of Tarkov 1.0:
Will Tarkov Be Open World?
Nikita stated that Escape from Tarkov won’t ever be open world because it’s ‘too much’, but the maps will be connected when Tarkov 1.0 is released. This means players will be able to ‘stay in raid’ and transition from map to map, rather than leaving and loading into another raid entirely.
Read More: Is Escape from Tarkov a Battle Royale?
Are New Factions Coming to Tarkov?
Nikita confirmed that a new faction – RUAF – is coming to Escape from Tarkov soon. This will be the ‘Russian Armed Forces’, and as controversial as that may be, it’ll be a faction that’ll be better suited for ‘backing up’ the BEAR PMCs in-game. It’ll essentially act similarly as the Rogues do with USEC PMCs on Lighthouse.
Are More Hideout Expansions Planned?
There is a wealth of expansions planned for the hideout, including some that will be tied to downloadable content, story missions, and other planned updates, such as ‘clans’ and ‘alliances’, according to Nikita Buyanov.
Is Battlestate Games Improving Anti-Cheat Systems in Tarkov?
Nikita spoke about this sore spot, which has impacted almost every player in the game. It’s getting worse, and many feel Battlestate Games isn’t doing enough to combat it, but that’s not the case, according to the man himself. Nikita explained:
Cheaters are finding imperfections in the code and other abuses of the code … Every single time, when we close something for the cheaters, they find another way. We close it, they find another way… It’s an ongoing process.
He explained that Battlestate Games is preparing to trial more invasive anti-cheat measures, but this will cause the game to tank in terms of performance, so it’s about finding that perfect balance.
Are More Microtransactions Coming to Tarkov?
Nikita confirmed that more microtransactions are coming to Escape from Tarkov, but they’ll be in the form of clothing and cosmetics only. He stressed that new clothing items are coming that can be bought, but that the studio ‘will not add boosters, equipment packages, or currency packages.’
Read More: Is Escape from Tarkov Free to Play?
Is There a PMC Karma System Coming to Tarkov?
It was explained that there’s a PMC Karma system coming that’ll be a ‘concealed statistic’ to start with, with players not knowing how to control their karma. Nikita said, somewhat jokingly, that things like sitting in a bush at exfil sites will push your karma down – but it’s not known if that’s legitimate. There are also plans for a new Tarkov boss character that will take the form of a bounty hunter, chasing down players with bad karma.
Is Tarkov Getting a Prestige System?
Escape from Tarkov will get a Prestige system, with players being able to secure a special accolade when they’ve completed everything and ‘escaped from Tarkov’. This will be tied in with a new story update that will allow players to actually and finally escape Tarkov, picking up one of several endings and being able to boast that they’ve completely finished the game.
Is There a Story Coming to Escape from Tarkov?
Nikita explained that a new storyline is coming to Escape from Tarkov, one that will feature several alternate ‘endings’. Ultimately, it’ll see the player properly escape the game and will also feature single-player missions and locations.
Is Edge of Darkness Coming Back to Tarkov?
There’s no sign that Edge of Darkness will return as a game version of Escape from Tarkov, but there’s something even better on the horizon, Nikita said. It hasn’t got a name, but it’ll feature more bonuses than Edge of Darkness previously did before it was taken off the store.
When is the Next Tarkov Wipe?
Nikita explained that there’s a wipe scheduled for the summer and the winter months of 2024, but that was as close as he got with the dates. You can find out more about the next Tarkov wipe here.
Is Battlestate Games Working on a New Game?
Nikita confirmed that once Tarkov 1.0 has been released, the company will start working on a totally new game – but that was as much information as he gave up.
Is There Any DLC Coming to Tarkov?
Nikita said that there are plans to introduce DLC, potentially bringing clans and alliances into the game, along with other things. He didn’t dive in too deep on this topic, though.
Read More: Is Escape from Tarkov Offline?
Is a Tarkov Companion App Coming?
Battlestate Games is still working on a companion app and plans to release an API for Escape from Tarkov, which will allow third-party developers to create apps for the game.
What’s The Next Tarkov Map?
The next ‘map’ will be Terminal, but Nikita confirmed it’s not a traditional map as we know it. Instead, it’ll help to facilitate the cross-map functionality, and it’s more of a transport hub than it is a map that players can load into and raid as they normally would.
Aside from these major talking points, Nikita also highlighted changes coming to:
- Hit boxes
- Armour mechanics
- Recoil
- Inertia
- Crafting
- Weapons
A lot is stacking up on the Tarkov roadmap – stay tuned for all the latest updates.
