If you follow, even if only from afar, the development ofEscape From Tarkov, you probably know that controversy is never far away. The disastrous communication from Nikita, the head of the Battlestate Games studio, is undoubtedly no stranger to this. The last drama was yesterday, when the team decided to put on sale a new version ofEscape From Tarkov – still in beta – with lots of exclusive benefits for only €300 (€250 + 20% VAT).
But let's go back a little to have a complete vision of the excrement-flavored wedding cake that BSG lovingly made for us. Since the start of the beta – in 2016 – the edition Edge of Darkness (EOD), already affectionately called pigeon edition in our lines, offered substantial advantages, such as more space in the stash, a larger secure container, more basic equipment, etc. Mainly comfort, a sort of pay to fast, that is to say being able to access high-level content more quickly. But a small line at the end also indicated “ Free access to all subsequent DLC (season pass) ”, or, in Jul’s language, “free access to all subsequent DLC”. But from the start, BSG had announced that they would stop selling this edition, which was still worth almost €200 with taxes (and after a few successive increases), as the final version approached. Therefore, no one was very surprised by its withdrawal on January 7, as announced a few weeks earlier.
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We now jump back in time to yesterday, with the publication of this presentation video, accompanied by store page and associated note patch :
In a few minutes, there was an outpouring of criticism, whether under the video, on Twitter, Reddit or their Discord server official. Here is the list of the main elements that pose a problem to the community, for this edition Unheard :
1 – Exclusive access to PvE co-op mode with persistent progression without wipe (editor's note : reset during major patches)
This is undoubtedly what most crystallizes the fury of players, and in particular owners of the EOD edition. In fact, this functionality is not accessible to them, despite the “ Free access to all subsequent DLC “. Difficult to know if this would hold up in any court, but we are clearly playing on words.
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But 24 hours later, a new post on Redditfrom the staff ofEscape From Tarkovtried to lessen – in vain – the sleeve, by offering 6 months of PvE coop mode to owners of the EOD and a few other small gifts (including a new ass fuck):
Obviously, no one is satisfied with 6 months of access to content that was supposed to be included in their version of the game. On the other hand, we can see a new future problem: “ high priority matching “. We can therefore expect to have to pay so that you no longer have to wait for long minutes before entering a raid. But what geniuses, the com guys!
2 – Enlarged operator pockets (2 x 1 + 2 x 2)
This is not a particularly decisive advantage for killing your opponent, but particularly unbalanced when you know what it implies. Especially since there is, a priorino way to unlock it with other editions of the game.
3 – A unique melee weapon in game, issued a free asset store
Ultimately, it's perhaps the least shocking thing.
4 – A secure Gamma container (3 x 3)
The funny thing is that there was a similar line for the version Edge of Darkness, but with the mention “exclusive”. Battlestate Games realized this a posterioriAnd modified the page of this one in Loucedé. Not sure it works like that…
5 – A special radio, “ Mark of The Unheard »
This item provides several bonuses, but what mainly raises eyebrows is that with a reputation at Fence greater than 6, scavs will not attack your operator first from a distance greater than 60 meters. This could then give a big advantage during PvP battles.
6 – The distress beacon
This is not yet implemented, but the developers indicate that owners of the edition Unheard will be able to trigger a distress beacon, and thus, all the players on your friends list will receive a notification so that they can join your raid and help you. As nothing is specified, some still hope that it will only be applicable to PvE mode, but nothing is less certain.
There are plenty of other things, but this seems minor to us and clearly of the same principle as editing Edge of Darkness previously: weapon crates, rifles, etc. And then the article is already quite long…
But why did you do that?
Difficult to answer this question with confidence. However, one of the most plausible causes would be the failure of the standalone ARENA. According to the feedback we can see in the community, it seems that this is not working, and some regular players complain of always falling back on the same names. This could be a financial drain for Battlestate Games, which would therefore need cash. On the other hand, competitors have been jostling at the gate for several months, and perhaps Nikita is afraid of seeing his player base melt like snow in the sun. We think in particular of Gray Zone Warfareeven if it is clearly not in the same niche, but also the Chinese copy of Tarkov, Arena Breakout: Infiniteor the probable scam Project L.3.3.T.developed by a team known for its scams on its previous projects.
While waiting for these not always very engaging proposals, and despite all the controversies, Escape From Tarkov still features unparalleled gameplay and gunfeel. Let's hope that Battlestate listens to reason and reverses these unacceptable announcements.
To write this article, I relied mainly on the Reddit community ofEscape From Tarkov, very responsive. If you want to follow the affair live, that's where it's happening.
Thanks to Sevenn for the info.