After 9 years, Escape From Tarkov version 1.0 arrives on Steam full of bugs with obscene matchmaking queues: "I've played 11 hours that recorded on Steam. But I haven't entered the game yet"

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Battlestate Games is working on hotfixes and updates

Escape From Tarkov
(Image credit: Battlestate Games)

It only took nine years, but it's here: Escape From Tarkov version 1.0 finally launched on Steam on November 15. Sadly, the release isn't quite going to plan, with players complaining about performance problems and overlong matchmaking queues, among other foibles.

The multiplayer extraction shooter is currently sitting with a Mixed Steam reviews rating, as feedback continues to pour in from frustrated purchasers. "Hackers, server issues, bugs that appear and disappear with patches, the game is held together with bailing wire," reads a top-rated review. "Make no mistake, this is a truly impressive game with a breadth and depth of content like no other. It is also cursed."

Another reviewer forgives everything but the waiting around. "I could overlook a bad launch, server issues, poor optimization, and bugs. But matchmaking takes 20–40 minutes for both Scav and PMC," they comment.

Escape from Tarkov 1.0 Release Gameplay Trailer - YouTube Escape from Tarkov 1.0 Release Gameplay Trailer - YouTube
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Among the negative reviews are players who state they never even got to try the game properly. "I've played 11 hours that were recorded on Steam. But I haven't entered the game yet," a third review adds.

Developer Battlestate Games rolled out a hotfix today, November 17, and studio head Nikita Buyanov says on Twitter that he's "doing more fixes and server stuff." With any luck, these changes should make playing a bit easier for at least a few of the aggrieved players who've been left cold thus far.

Leaning more toward realism and tactics than the likes of Arc Raiders or Counter-Strike, Escape From Tarkov has gradually accrued a dedicated following since the late 2010s, peaking at over 200,000 players in 2020. Though going into 1.0 hasn't gone how anyone would like, hopefully it's just a bump in the road.

Escape from Tarkov dev has outdone itself, telling players to buy the whole game again if they want it on Steam after 9 years leading to 1.0: "There are no excuses"

Anthony McGlynn
Anthony McGlynn
Contributing Writer

Anthony is an Irish entertainment and games journalist, now based in Glasgow. He previously served as Senior Anime Writer at Dexerto and News Editor at The Digital Fix, on top of providing work for Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PC Gamer, and many more. Besides Studio Ghibli, horror movies, and The Muppets, he enjoys action-RPGs, heavy metal, and pro-wrestling. He interviewed Animal once, not that he won’t stop going on about it or anything.

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