Latest news with #EscapeFromTarkov
Forbes
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The ‘Escape From Tarkov' Hardcore Wipe Is The Best It's Been In Years
Takrov is feeling great right now. The hardcore wipe in Escape From Tarkov got off to a rough start, with some questionable decisions or simple oversights that really hampered the player experience. But now those have mostly been solved, the hardcore mode has reignited my love for Tarkov after more than a year of being away from the game. A new wipe is always an exciting time in Tarkov, but not since the addition of Ground Zero well over a year ago have I been itching to play whenever I have free time. With little in the way of major new content since then, wipes have just become resets rather than a chance to explore new content, and have quickly become tiresome as I realise it's essentially the same old stuff once again. But this wipe, with the new hardcore ruleset that makes everything that little bit harder, is proving to be enough of a change to keep me interested. The reworked economy and no flea market, as well as the increase in difficulty, means I no longer always have over a million in the bank and can afford new kit, and the lack of rare loot means I can no longer do one of my trusty loot runs, which I'm not going to share, to earn that kind of cash in minutes. This in turn means I'm having to learn how to use new weapons, and truly scrounge whatever I can from the map each time I survive. Running out of a raid with a TOZ in my backpack is now a worthwhile thing to do, just so I can build up a stash of weapons for when I inevitably lose all my good ones and have no cash to buy any more. With all maps now available with no transit required, which is probably the last quality of life change that needed to be made, this hardcore Tarkov wipe is feeling fantastic. Every encounter with AI or other players brings back that adrenaline that was only there during my first couple of wipes, and losing a fight feels truly heartbreaking once again. I don't want to go as far as to say this is how Tarkov should be played, it is tough and a lot of players are bouncing off this wipe as a result. The 70% boss spawn rate also means chill raids are just no longer a thing on some maps and could be toned down a little. But I do think, providing player numbers can support it, a permanent hardcore mode in Tarkov when it launches later this year would be a good thing. I, for sure, would play it, and likely even run two different characters, one for normal Tarkov and one for hardcore. It's a completely different change of pace and one that, right now at least, is really working for me and my enjoyment of Escape From Tarkov. There are still a few things to improve here and there, but as a concept this has been an undoubted success now the big issues have been fixed, and with a tiny bit more refinement it could be a very welcome permanent addition to Tarkov.
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
The ‘Escape From Tarkov' Hardcore Wipe Launches Tomorrow
The hardcore Tarkov wipe is here. The next Escape From Tarkov wipe is launching tomorrow, July 9, and for the first time it will be a hardcore wipe, which brings some interesting changes for all Tarkov players to deal with. The hardcore Escape From Tarkov wipe has been teased for a few weeks, but now it has officially been confirmed, with the wipe date revealed as July 9, which is tomorrow. At 8:00 AM BST / 3:00 AM EDT the Escape From Tarkov servers will go down, including those for Escape From Tarkov Arena, and the new wipe will be deployed, alongside patch 0.16.8.0 for the main game and 0.3.2.1 for Arena. The downtime is expected to last for six hours. That all means that, should the installation go smoothly, the Escape From Tarkov Hardcore wipe will launch around 2:00 PM BST / 9:00 AM EDT on July 9. However, as with most wipe patches there is a good chance the actual launch is later than this, and there is also a chance the servers will be unstable for the first few hours as thousands of players return for a new wipe. When the hardcore wipe does launch in Tarkov there will be some big changes to how the game is played and the gear you can get. Once again the flea market will be disabled, meaning you can't buy the items you need from other players, and the hideout upgrades will require more items, making them even more difficult to achieve. Rare loot will be less common and you will not be able to craft high tier ammo, then to make that sting even more, you'll get less money for selling to traders and they will have even more limited stock than usual, so this really will be a wipe for budget gear. There will also be changes when you are in the game, most notably that bosses will have a 100% spawn chance, so will be in every raid, and some locations will only be accessible via map to map transit, so you cannot load straight into them. Exactly which maps will be available as normal have not been revealed, but expect these to be very busy in the opening weeks of the wipe. You'll also find that AI are stronger than ever, and you'll get reduced XP for killing them. But to combat that you'll get more XP for surviving, so this wipe really is all about playing safe and not dying, otherwise you'll lose gear that is harder to find than ever and come out with basically no rewards. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder There is no news on what other changes will be coming with the patch notes, other than the addition of a new AK-50 rifle to the game, but do not expect this to be a major patch. Initially, there was not going to be a summer wipe this year as the team prepares to launch Escape From Tarkov into its 1.0 form, so even getting this should be seen as a bonus.
Metro
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Bungie delays Marathon to next year - developers only found out today
The makers of Destiny have announced that beleaguered online shooter Marathon is to be delayed beyond this autumn, in Sony's latest live service disaster. It's been predicted for some time now, given the poor response to its various playtests, but developer Bungie has now confirmed that Marathon will miss its previously announced release date of September 23. The extraction shooter has been widely criticised for not being as challenging as leading genre titles such as Escape From Tarkov but at the same time being too much for casual fans, effectively pleasing no one. Bungie has acknowledged this, saying: 'We know we need more time to craft Marathon into the game that truly reflects your passion.' There's no new release date but with no more news updates planned until the autumn, it seems to have missed its chance to launch in 2025. 'The Alpha test created an opportunity for us to calibrate and focus the game on what will make it uniquely compelling – survival under pressure, mystery and lore around every corner, raid-like endgame challenges, and Bungie's genre-defining FPS [first person shooter] combat,' reads the official annoucement. 'We're using this time to empower the team to create the intense, high-stakes experience that a title like Marathon is built around. This means deepening the relationship between the developers and the game's most important voices: our players.' More closed tests are planned 'over the next few months', with Bungie focusing on 'upping the survival game' with new loot and more challenging AI encounters, in an attempt to make combat 'more tense and strategic'. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. They're also promising a better experience for solo and duo players, as well as proximity chat. The visuals will also be improved, with a darker tone that 'delivers on the themes of the original trilogy.' The original three Marathon games were Mac exclusives, released in the mid-90s, before Bungie hit it big with Halo. Although there's no formal connection with the Xbox games, the gameplay and multiplayer modes are similar, with the concept of AI rampancy shared between both series. At the moment, there's little obvious connection between the new Marathon and the old ones, while there's been considerable controversy over Bungie plagiarising an online artist for the game's distinctive art style. Although Bungie is currently owned by Sony the game is intended to be released simultaneously on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC. More Trending Marathon is the latest in a long line of live service failures for Sony, who once claimed they would release at least 10 such titles by 2026. The only success they've ever had is Helldivers 2, with everything else either being delayed or cancelled – with Concord being the most infamous failure. Despite so many disasters, Sony has repeatedly insisted that live service titles will remain a major focus, at the continuing costs of its single-player output. Since Sony acquired Bungie to not only make its own live service games, but to help advise on other studios' titles, the continued problems have raised concerns about the future of Bungie itself. Poor management has consistently been blamed for the problems at Bungie, with Forbes contributor Paul Tassi suggesting that many Bungie developers only found out about the Marathon delay at the same time as fans. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Xbox AMD deal confirms next gen home and portable consoles are coming soon MORE: Xbox ROG Ally handheld prices could be as high as £800 claims leaker MORE: The highest rated Metacritic game of 2025 actually came out in 2023
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Escape From Tarkov' Players Angry After AI Art Found In New Map
The new Iceberg map is proving controversial. Earlier this week a new map launched in Escape From Tarkov Arena called Iceberg, however fans have since discovered that it features AI generated artwork, and as you might expect, a lot of them are not happy. Yesterday, patch 0.3.1 for Escape From Tarkov Arena was launched, and the headline new addition was a new map for the Blast Gang and CheckPoint game modes called Iceberg, which is set in a luxury hotel that is now being used for the combat arena sport. By most accounts, it's a decent map, with a lot of players seeming to have fun in the first day of action. However, fans have now discovered some AI generated artwork on the map, and quite a few are angry and disappointed about its inclusion. The top thread on the Escape From Tarkov sub-Reddit is currently highlighting some of the AI art, and asking the developers to not use it again in either Arena or the main Tarkov game. Throughout the Iceberg map, there are posters on the walls that parody other games. Some examples include parodies of the iconic Dark Souls graphic of a character next to a bonfire, the key art of the recently released Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and artwork that appears to be referencing Steam hit Lethal Company. Many fans on the sub-Reddit theorised these images were made with AI, and now a member of the Escape From Tarkov PR team has confirmed to me that that is the case and these images were made with AI. As is the case with a lot of AI work, there has been somewhat of a backlash from areas of the Tarkov community, with some fans calling the use of AI lazy and many sharing their disappointment that developers Battlestate Games has chosen to use this technology instead of commissioning human artists. However, others are arguing that this is a good use of AI, with features of the map that are inconsequential to gameplay and something that will barely be noticed by most players. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Had these images not been made by AI these would have been some very cool Easter eggs for players to discover on the new map, but now they are creating somewhat of a negative storm, which is a common occurrence in the world of Tarkov. It's only been a year or so since the extremely controversial Unheard Edition of Tarkov that saw a lot of fans pledge to never come back to it. If you want to see the AI artwork on the Iceberg map yourself, then you are in luck, as Escape From Tarkov Arena is having a free weekend right now. You can play the game for free until 6:00 PM MSK on June 2, and there is a new task chain and double XP to enjoy when you do. If you want to purchase Arena after trying it, there is also a 20% discount for the duration of the weekend. If you would rather watch, then Twitch Drops for Tarkov Arena are currently live as well, so you can get some in game rewards to watching the action.
Forbes
28-04-2025
- Forbes
A Major ‘Escape From Tarkov' Patch Arrives Tomorrow
A new Tarkov patch is coming very soon. Credit: Battlestate Games / Mike Stubbs A new Escape From Tarkov patch is set to arrive tomorrow, April 29, and it should bring with it a lot of improvements, including optimizations to key maps and a ton of user-requested features and changes that should make life a lot easier when playing. The new patch is 0.16.6.0, which was initially announced as coming in May, but appears to be launching a few days early. It will now launch tomorrow, April 29, at 8:00 AM BST / 3:00 AM EDT. The installation process for the patch will take around five hours, and during this time Escape From Tarkov will be down and not playable at all. However, as we have seen many times before, there is a chance this downtime is extended further should there be any complications with the patch deployment. While we won't get a chance to see the official Escape From Tarkov patch notes for update 0.16.6.0, we do know some of the things that should be arriving with it thanks to the recent Tarkov TV stream that revealed the Tarkov roadmap for the next few months. In it, a lot of key changes coming in the patch were revealed, as well as some of the changes we can expect in future patches as well. In the new Tarkov patch the biggest changes will arrive at a technical level, rather than in the form of new content. There will be significant optimizations for the Lighthouse map, visual improvements for Customs, which continues to be amazing since the recent rework, and audio improvements on Shoreline. There are also promised fixes for missing armor impact sounds, AI behaviour improvements, and some of the usual balance changes that we often see at this point in a wipe. The more interesting changes come in the promised improvements that have come from the Tarkov Community suggestion site. The relatively new suggestion forum has been a place for players to post their biggest gripes with Tarkov, and it seems that the devs have been taking notice. This patch should include significant quality of life improvements such as highlighting items in insurance returns that are set to expire, auto restarting failed tasks and the ability to buy all items needed for a craft at once. The Tarkov roadmap also states there will be an in-game event with patch 0.16.6.0, however don't expect this to launch tomorrow, as we tend to see new events pop up a few days after the release of a patch at the earliest. Given the last event has also only just concluded, it would be a surprise to see another so quickly, unless it is referring to the promised permanent addition of the areas from the last event. With this Escape From Tarkov patch arriving slightly earlier than expected, it seems there have already been some changes to the roadmap despite it only being shown off a few days ago. However, getting a patch sooner than expected is never a bad thing, and could mean that we get more content even sooner than planned in future.
