Sometimes video game studios make absurd decisions. Not controversial. Not unpopular. Just absurd. Decisions that anyone would be able to see will not only be poorly received, but will actively harm the business. To the point where the press has to cover the disaster you have caused. This is exactly what happened with the latest decision from Battlestate Game, the studio behind Escape from Tarkov.
On April 25th, the studio announced a new bundle for the game called The Unheard Edition. This new edition would include a new cooperative PvE mode and numerous improvements that would give players advantages during the game. With a price of $250, it was expected that the audience would not be happy even if it contained all the DLC. But the community rose up in arms because there was something beyond its price.
Before the release of this edition, Battlestate Game released an edition called Edge of Darkness. Now no longer available, this edition cost 100 dollars and included a battle pass that promised access to all future DLC. Only to discover that, for some reason, the new PvE mode cannot be accessed from the Edge of Darkness edition.
That was not the only complaint. Players also complained about the fact that they considered the new improvements to be pay-to-win. Something difficult to argue, when this $250 edition offers a greater capacity to hoard items, improved abilities, and the possibility that some NPCs do not attack us. Something that undeniably offers a clear advantage over other players.
The chief community manager, Daniel Mavlyuberdinov, commented on the first issue, although he didn’t say anything about the second one. The reason for not including the PvE mode in the battle pass is, according to his own words, because it doesn’t count as DLC. Stating that it is a new feature, the fact that the public called it DLC doesn’t mean that it is, which is why those who purchased the Edge of Darkness edition cannot obtain it for free. As an alternative, and to further fuel the controversy, Mavlyuberdinov suggested that players spend another $250 to buy the Battlestate Game edition and have access to everything.
Of course, fans were not happy with the decision. Something that made them have to close all the game channels, as they were complaining about this decision in absolutely all the game chats. Which was absolutely inevitable. Even if in the game’s Reddit they decided to keep the doors open, with great control over the content.
It was on Reddit where the CEO of Battlestate Games, named Nikita Buyanov, wrote the latest piece of history so far. Clarifying that this is not a DLC, because they consider a DLC to be something that is included after the game’s release and the game has not been released yet, they don’t have to offer it to users who have the battle pass. But given the complaints from players, they have decided to offer all the content from the Unheard Edition to everyone who has the Edge of Darkness edition. Upon the game’s release.
This has not alleviated the anger of the fans at all. Admitting that it may take years for the game to be released, it is possible that they may not be able to enjoy this content for a long time. If they ever get to enjoy it at all. To compensate them, Buyanov offered a 50% discount, for a limited time, to upgrade to The Unheard edition for those who already have Edge of Darkness. Which also doesn’t seem to solve much.
All of this makes the game’s fans continue to be furious with the situation, with the company still not backing down. What will happen in the future with Escape from Tarkov remains up in the air, but what seems obvious is that this is not the last we have heard of the game.
Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.