Battlestate Games’ Escape From Tarkov may not be as popular as Overwatch or Counter-Strike, but its impact in the gaming industry cannot be overstated.
The Russian shooter is widely considered the founding stone of the extraction shooter genre, and has paved the way for commercial hits like ARC Raiders and the myriad of extraction spin-offs of popular games like Call of Duty and Rainbow Six.
Escape From Tarkov spent a decade in development and early access before finally releasing in November last year, but according to creator and CEO Nikita Buyanov, this was just the beginning.
Tarkov Was a ‘Testing Phase’
In an interview with IGN, Buyanov focused primarily on his new project, Fragmentary Order. However, the most eye-catching thing said was how the director regards the ten years spent creating and polishing Escape From Tarkov.
According to the CEO, the time spent developing Escape From Tarkov was “like a testing phase” spanning ten continuous years, but now that it’s over, the team behind it can finally “start making some real games now, something that will be even more challenging to do.”
Buyanov states he hopes the Escape From Tarkov alumni will go on to revolutionize genres, or maybe even invent a new one, much like Tarkov did with extraction shooters.
The Russian shooter is widely considered the founding stone of the extraction shooter genre
The creator of Escape From Tarkov is still working at Battlestate Games, but his main focus now is Fragmentary Order. While Buyanov doesn’t want to reveal too much since “other companies will use it,” he says the new game aims to break the infil-kill-die/extract pattern that his own creation helped cement.
Staying true to Eastern Europe’s tradition of hard sci-fi, Fragmentary Order will be a space shooter with a focus on realism. Previous endeavors to try and bring realism to sci-fi shooters while staying interesting have proven difficult, as Bethesda learned the hard way with Starfield, despite its commercial success. Buyanov is aware that the new game “is not for everyone,” but it should be perfect “for those who want to suffer.”
Given the success of Escape From Tarkov, it doesn’t look like Fragmentary Order will have a shortage of people wanting to burn their free time and sanity, only in space this time.
