Recently, Battlestate Games revealed a new version of Escape from Tarkov called The Unheard Edition. It was immediately flagged by the community as being a potential cash-grab and borderline pay-to-win, with some features of The Unheard Edition having been snatched from the Edge of Darkness roadmap, which was previously the top-tier of Tarkov before Battlestate Games made these changes.
Naturally, this has caused the creator community that holds Tarkov up on its shoulders to rebel, taking to social media platforms to vent its frustration and finding comfort in the arms of competing titles, such as Arena Breakout and Gray Zone Warfare.
Nobody Liked That
The Unheard Edition is utterly insane, boasting a staggering list of advantages and bonuses – plus a $250 price tag, making it the most expensive Escape from Tarkov edition ever.
Battlestate Games has had a hard time defending the reveal of The Unheard Edition, especially as some features locked behind this sizeable paywall were once upon a time promised to be delivered to those with the ‘Edge of Darkness’ edition of the game. This is one of many bugbears surrounding this new edition.
For $250 (or a little less for existing users), players can get an offline player-vs-environment cooperative mode that won’t undergo ‘wipes’. There’s a bunch of exclusive equipment to be unlocked, as well as a ‘starting stash’ bursting at the seams with cases, powerful weapons, and high-tier armour. Those purchasing or upgrading to The Unheard Edition will get a boosted stash, bigger pockets, better relationships with some traders, boosted skills at the start of the game, and special recognition in the form of an armband, a unique nickname colour, and a special logo.
There are many more advantages to The Unheard Edition, but that’s the gist of it.
On social media, competing titles such as Arena Breakout and Gray Zone Warfare have lapped up the bad press, taking advantage of the social uproar to flex the potential of their games. In one particularly nasty exchange, Arena Breakout: Infinite posted a no-holds-barred message about the Tarkov changes, which led Battlestate Games to fire back on Twitter.
Gray Zone Warfare has maintained a more neutral and tongue-in-cheek position, but in a recent post directed at the controversy, almost every top-tier Tarkov creator could be found in the comments encouraging MADFINGER Games, the developer behind Gray Zone Warfare. It doesn’t take long in social circles because you learn that every Escape from Tarkov creator worth their salt is perplexed or downright disappointed with this trending topic.
It’s a bad day to be Battlestate Games.
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