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.
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.
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