Escape From Tarkov Arena: Everything We Know

If you've played Battlestate Games' military simulator, Escape From Tarkov, you'll know it's a grueling looter shooter that's as punishing as it is rewarding. However, it's not just the high stakes action players enjoy, but also the game's realistic combat and mechanics, which play and feel unlike any other FPS on the market. In fact, many players solely love the game because of its mechanics and would prefer to enjoy that gameplay without having to deal with the grind of the game's main extraction mode. Well, Battlestage Games heard fans' outcry and answered their call with Escape From Tarkov Arena.

Thanks to Battlestate Games revealing some Tarkov Arena gameplay at Gamescom 2023, we now have more information than ever about what the new competitive FPS will bring to our screens. As a result, it's time to learn everything there is to know about Battlestate Games' standalone FPS spin-off, Tarkov Arena.

What is Escape From Tarkov Arena?

Despite the fact that it is being developed by Battlestate Games, the team behind the original Escape From Tarkov, Tarkov Arena will be its own stand-alone game. “Arena is a new project in the Tarkov universe, a competitive PvPvE tactical first-person shooter. Arena perfectly combines the hardcore mechanics of EFT and fast-paced gameplay of session matches.” states the games page.

Tarkov Arena will feature both PvP and PvE across several different game modes and maps. It will still consist of all the same guns, mechanics, and gameplay of the main game, however, in a much different way – that being, you don't lose all of your stuff when you die. Thus, offering up a much more casual way to enjoy the game, rather than one that makes you want to pull your hair out every raid – yes, this new wipe has been a struggle.

Story

Tarkov Arena lacks a direct narrative because it is intended to be a more casual FPS, but there is some lore behind its uprising. That is, the “Arena” pits the players against each other in “gladiator fights” organized by the “mysterious Masters” and directed by “the Host.” It's sort of a dark twist on what is a casual FPS mode, however, that's the Tarkov spirit. Nonetheless, more lore will come about this later as the game development progresses.

Story aside, this is a good time to talk about the maps that were revealed. The one embedded above is “Air Pit”, but the other maps are Bay5, Equator, Sawmill, The Bowl, The Box, and Resort. All of the Arena maps are based on maps from the Tarkov extraction version, however, they aren't completely copied from the game but rather take inspiration from it.

Gameplay

Tarkov Arena's gameplay will function as follows: Players will choose presets for equipment depending on the rank of the player and the chosen role: Assault, CQB, Scout, and, Sniper. There will be multiple character presets for each role, which differ in the gun and equipment you take with your character into battle. On a side note, Tarkov Arena will also have a ranked mode where players can compete against others of similar skill levels.

What's most interesting, is that while Tarkov Arena is a standalone game, “your character's level, skills and weapon mastering will grow in both EFT: Arena and Escape from Tarkov. And vice versa.”

Game Modes

Starting with the PVP game modes, the first is Shootout, which is a “Round robin tournament – each team plays against each other in solo, duo, or trio modes. The two teams with the most victory points compete in the final to determine the tournament winner.” Then there's Teamfight, where “two teams of five players compete for victory in seven rounds.” The game mode Last Hero is essentially free-for-all. Finally, there's Duel, but we don't have any information on that game mode yet.

Tarkov Arena also mentioned it's adding a PvE game mode known as Overrun. In these five-player PvE missions, “The goal of the team is to clear the location from waves of enemies, complete the given objective and evacuate to a safe zone.”

Development

We now know where the game is in development, which appears to be quite far down the line, thanks to the Escape From Tarkov: Arena – First Look Gameplay trailer shown off at Gamescom 2023, which we've also embedded below. From the trailer we know the game is in Alpha, however, if you pre-order you'll get access to the game once it jumps to its beta version, whenever that may be.

Trailer

We won't get a better look at Tarkov Arena gameplay than what Battlestate Games gave us in its gameplay trailer at Gamescom 2023. The video itself is eight minutes long, but it's quite intriguing, features some great combat exchanges, and really gets us excited for what's to come.

Release Date, Platforms & Editions

Unfortunately, because it is still in Alpha, there is no release date for Tarkov Arena just yet. If we had to speculate, we'd shoot for Q1 of 2024, however, that's a shot in the dark. Furthermore, the game will only be releasing on PC.

The final point to mention is the game's editions. Escape From Tarkov: Arena can be purchased separately, however, players who already own Escape From Tarkov: Edge of Darkness, the full version of the game, will receive Arena for free. So if you have that version, you're good to go; if you don't have the full version and only have the half version of Escape From Tarkov, you'll need to upgrade or purchase Arena separately.

So, what's your take? Are you excited about Tarkov Arena? Do you think it will be better or worse than the main extraction version? Let us know in the comments below or over on our socials here!