Escape from Tarkov $250 Edition: Fans Furious, Devs Answer
Escape from Tarkov $250 edition, dubbed “The Unheard Edition,” has sparked a torrent of fan outrage. Disappointment rippled through the community, and the studio rushed to explain it.
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On April 25, Escape from Tarkov developers removed their most expensive edition, “Edge of Darkness Edition” from sale and instead offered players to buy the new “The Unheard Edition” for $250.
The new edition gives players access to the closed beta of the new PvE mode, as well as an enormous number of unfair items that break the game’s economy.
Why Players Hate The Escape from Tarkov $250 Edition
A few years ago, Battlestate Games released the Escape from Tarkov “Edge of Darkness Edition” for $140, which promised players free access to all future DLC. Additionally, the Standard Edition, priced at $50, pledged immediate access to the closed beta.
At the moment of writing, the previous most expensive edition, “Edge of Darkness Edition,” has been removed from sale entirely. And “The Unheard Edition” now demands a hefty $250. The developers insist that the new mode is not a DLC, but it’s also not included in the “closed beta” of the entire game. So, this is a lose-lose situation for all players, forcing them to buy a new edition anyway.
Players were also disappointed with the Pay to Win features in “The Unheard Edition.” Among other things, it offers players:
- Expanded PMC pockets
- Increased Fence standing
- More slots on the Flea Market
- Increased mail retention time
These things are not simple cosmetics or personal upgrades. They disrupt the game’s global economy and give these newcomers an unfair advantage.
The main difference of the new edition is access to an offline PvE co-op mode with a persistent progression that won’t be reset with wipes. So, the developers not only placed the new PvE mode under a huge paywall, but they also deviated from the essence of the game as it’s an online PvP mode with the loss of all equipment when a character dies.
Fans Boycott The Escape from Tarkov $250 Edition
Of course, all this caused a wave of indignation and rage among the fans who have supported the developers for many years. The official Discord server of the game was overflowing with the same type of messages from fans who spammed them on every channel:
“Since 2016, players have supported the developers by purchasing the highest edition of the game. For 8 years, we’ve been recommending this game to friends, bringing more and more players into the community. And what was the developers’ response? They’ve blown us off, refuse to comment, and only encourage those who have lost all respect for themselves and continue to pour money in. I personally had high hopes for Tarkov. In my eyes, it was a high-quality and most ambitious product on the entire market. This is unacceptable. This is selfish. This is disrespectful. You’ve disgraced yourselves completely. You’ve lost loyal players, you’ve betrayed the idea. It’s disgusting. To everyone who feels the same way — don’t be silent. Spam, make memes, spread the word wherever it’s relevant. This cannot be tolerated. “
— Players
Some fans called for a boycott of Battlestate Games, while others were silently disappointed. Heated discussions took place on Reddit and the game’s social networks. The “Unheard Edition” trailer on YouTube has several times more dislikes than likes. Even the moderators of the game’s subreddit were unhappy with the developer’s decision:
“The gates are open. Posts about the new edition of the game won’t be removed (mostly).
Let’s start this off right — we (the mod team) are just as livid about this situation as you are.
Complain away, it’s P2W and a betrayal of players’ trust/support of this game over the years.”
— EFT_Moderators
What Escape from Tarkov Devs Say about The Unheard Edition
Battlestate’s initial backlash was:
“It ain’t DLC, it’s a unique feature of the new edition added.
DLC means additional downloadable content. PvE is a feature and a game mode. Just because you all want it to become a DLC it wouldn’t mean it is one. It’s featured gamemode for the new edition of the game.”
— appl3z0r, Lead Community Manager
A couple of days after the start of this scandal, Battlestate CEO Nikita Buyanov commented on the situation on Reddit. He clarified once more that the studio doesn’t consider the new game mode as DLC.
“First of all, PvE gamemode, this is not DLC. DLC in our understanding is the major additions to the game, including various functionality and content that are released after the official release of the game as a themed DLC pack (Scav Life DLC for example, which will add a lot of new mechanics and content for Scav gameplay and leveling).”
— Nikita Buyanov, Battlestate CEO
Buyanov further explained that such a paywall was created because the studio doesn’t have enough resources and server capacity yet to support all willing players in offline PvE mode.
“Secondly, this specific functionality of the PvE mode is necessarily located entirely on a separate network infrastructure, because, essentially, you play on our servers, only in closed mode. At this stage, it is not possible to launch all players who are EoD holders — right now, we simply do not have the required amount of resources for this. “
— Nikita Buyanov, Battlestate CEO
Then, the head of Battlestate offered discounts for those who already have the now unavailable “Edge of Darkness Edition” and assured that everyone would be able to try out the new PvE mode for free as soon as the studio improves the server infrastructure to the required capacity. According to them, the closed beta of the PvE mode will last six months.
Buyanov said that they will also add the ability to separately purchase access to the PvE mode, regardless of the game edition. They also plan to limit or balance items from the “Unheard Edition” that players found as Pay to Win.
Conclusions
At the moment, heated discussions are still ongoing. At the time of writing, the Battlestate CEO statement on Reddit has garnered over 5,000 comments.
What do you think about this? Do you agree with the developers, or do you support the dissatisfied Escape from Tarkov community? Share in the comments!
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