While server wipes have long been a staple of MMO shooter Escape from Tarkov ever since it released in 2017, some players are particularly unhappy about this week's cull.
The latest wipe, this one nicknamed the "Hardcore Wipe," introduced big changes to the game, buffing the challenge and removing quests and maps. This wipe is particularly brutal as Tarkov also now boasts slower progression and harder difficulty, too, making it harder for players to recover their pre-wipe status and inventory.
Although developer BattleState Games has been "monitoring player feedback closely" and is committed to tweaking balancing changes where necessary after the wipe on July 9, fans are taking to social media to complain, and evoking a… strong reaction from head of studio, Nikita Buyanov.
When one player popped up in Buyanov's mentions, saying, "you destroyed your game, bro," the head of studio's response was: "Oh, shut the f**k up." And though he later added in a different tweet that he was "joking" — "don't shut the f**k up. Every opinion matters" — fans seem split on both his response and the impact the wipe has had on the game.
"Unless they tweak some stuff fast, as in 1-3 days fast I think most of the playerbase will quit this wipe," said one. "They have gone too far hardcore and removed most of what makes Tarkov… Tarkov." Buyanov disagreed, writing: "I totally disagree with you. Seems like you never played early Tarkov."
On Reddit, where one OP started a conversation with a screenshot of them uninstalling the game, hundreds of players have upvoted the thread.
"Finally the true 1.0 update, escaping from Tarkov IRL," said one, while another added: "Turned on the PC. Saw that they actually implemented transit only, no tasks, and everything is dummy expensive. I actually turned off the PC and went and built outdoor furniture for the wife in the 92° heat. That's more fun than playing the wipe rn."
"Load into customs, wait 30 seconds, transit to interchange, have to wait and load interchange, see zero loot and then die to silent killa because 100% spawn rates. no quests either btw. Awesome wipe, Nikita," commented someone else, whereas a X/Twitter commented said: "Your game lost identity cause you tried to please everyone. Listening to streamers ruined this game for you."
To BattleState's credit, Buyanov has clearly communicated that there won't be able quests "for some period of time" — although they were back as of yesterday, July 10 — and assured players that they're "working on" issues with broken Transits.
And other players are a tad more chilled about the wipe, too. "Some people do nothing but constantly complain," posited one, whereas another responded: "Ignore the haters."
Escape from Tarkov offers a hardcore MMO mixture of first- and third-person shooter and role-playing gameplay. Players need to find a way out of the isolated Russian city of Tarkov, survive deadly hazards and unearth all mysteries of the city. Die in the game, though, and you lose everything, including any loot, weapons, or equipment you brought in with you.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
