According to the developer, Escape from Tarkov has more players than Destiny 2 on Steam

 In the past, developer Battlestate Games has mostly kept a low profile on the specific number of players in Escape from Tarkov. In a live stream with well-known streamers such as Sacriel and Summit1g, chief developer Nikita Buyanov can now elicit surprisingly clear statements.

According to this, Escape from Tarkov already had around 100,000 simultaneously active players at weddings at the beginning of the month. The following weekend, according to Buyanov, the numbers doubled. To put the numbers in relation, let's draw a comparison to Steam: With around 200,000 players, EFT has twice as many players as Destiny 2 and is more in the range of Monster Hunter World (via Steam Charts).

Furthermore, Buyanov says that there is currently a weekly increase in players of 10 to 25 percent. We have embedded the stream as a video for you below. To hear the statements about the number of players, jump to minute 33:00:

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Success surprises the developers

Developer Battlestate Games did not expect such rapidly growing numbers of players. We reported: Thanks to a successful advertising campaign, Escape from Tarkov suddenly became one of the most watched games on Twitch. Several well-known streamers added the game to their portfolio. These circumstances are now also reflected in the number of players.

As Buyanov points out, the recent server problems in Escape from Tarkov were directly related to the increased number of players. In the meantime, however, the developers have taken countermeasures as announced. This weekend we did not have any serious problems with matchmaking and stability.

If you're one of the new players, take a look at our entry-level guide to Escape from Tarkov. In it you will find the most important tips to make the first steps easier. Our map overview for EFT, on the other hand, gives you an overview of the maps that have been playable in the hardcore shooter so far.

Server problems in Tarkov: developers are giving away 1 million rubles for a limited time

 Escape from Tarkov has had server problems for the past few days. Players complained about disconnections during the raids or could not even log into the hardcore shooter. Certainly not a few have lost valuable equipment as a result if they were suddenly thrown out of the game in the middle of a battle.

Developer Battlestate Games announced on Monday at 18:41 on Twitter that players will be compensated for this with one million rubles.

However, the offer is limited to three days. So you have to log in by February 13th at 6:41 pm. Anyone who logs in once must collect the money within 48 hours from this point in time. You can find the in-game money in the news tab.

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Server continues to be Achilles heel

Server problems have often been a weak point in the Escape from Tarkov beta in the past. There were frequent disconnections and desynchronizations, especially after the transition from alpha to the beta phase.

A hardware Youtuber discovered various problems with the Netcode of Escape from Tarkov in 2018. In the meantime, however, the situation has improved significantly. At least that has mostly been the case so far.

Noticeable desynchronizations rarely occur, and the client-side performance of Escape from Tarkov has increased. Developer Battlestate Games has repeatedly stated that server and client performance is one of the top priorities in development.

Now the old problem with the servers shows up again. Escape from Tarkov has seen an increase in the number of players recently, probably driven by a successful promotion and increased viewership on Twitch. This could be one of the reasons for the renewed trouble for which the players are now being compensated by the Tarkov developers.

Escape from Tarkov Roadmap - These features are coming in 2020

 Escape from Tarkov has big plans for 2020 and beyond before the survival shooter can finally fulfill the developers' vision. A few features are still missing to complete, including five maps and a mode that connects all locations into one large game world.

In the short term, the Russian studio Battlestate Games published a roadmap in the official forum in mid-January, which gives you a pretty detailed insight into the current construction sites and upcoming content for Escape from Tarkov. We summarize below:

The next updates at a glance

The developers at EFT divide the update roadmap into different categories.

Next big update and wipe: A wipe will not take place in the next few months. The next wipe will be linked to storyline quests when they are finished developing.

About the new map: The developers do not want to need eight or nine months, as with 0.12 Patch, to complete the new location. They want to do their best to finish as soon as possible.

The release of the new map should therefore be planned for 2020. According to the developers, the new map is the eagerly awaited city map Streets of Tarkov.

Streets of Tarkov is the next card in the development cycle.Streets of Tarkov is the next card in the development cycle.

Minor updates: In the next five months, minor updates should be added to Escape from Tarkov. Battlestate Games plans to make various content and feature updates as well as bug fixes during this time. The main new features on the agenda are:

Revision of the weight system in the game

Addition of the new audio engine Steam Audio

More detail in gear customization

In the course of 2020 you should have more options for customizing your equipment in Escape from Tarkov. Among other things, the possibility of exchanging the armor plates in your west, which are also new, if they have been shot.

Upcoming armor plates in Escape from Tarkov can show different degrees of destruction.Upcoming armor plates in Escape from Tarkov can show different degrees of destruction.

In this way, you will be able to think carefully before a raid in the future about which type of projectile you want to arm yourself against. Because you can choose from various materials for the armor plates in the depth of detail known for Escape from Tarkov, each of which has specific properties.

The developers also want to make it possible to attach tactical magazine pouches to your vests at will. So you can fine-tune your loadout and decide more easily whether you want to take small or large magazines with you into the raid.

More features in the pipeline

What else is currently in the development process at Escape from Tarkov is summarized in brief. However, it is not clear which of these will appear in 2020 or possibly later:

An AKM assault rifle that is extremely lightweight shows that there is no end in sight when it comes to weapon modding at EFT.

Extreme modding: With this AKM, lightweight construction is written in bold.Extreme modding: With this AKM, lightweight construction is written in bold.

Bastion helmets with aramid protective panels. It is a modern, high-performance plastic (known for example as "Kevlar") that offers strong protection against bullets.

Armor with armor for the legs to address the issue of frequent deaths from shots to the unprotected legs. Until the system is fully implemented, the vest could initially appear without leg protection.

Escape from Tarkov has new ways to protect your legs in the long run.Escape from Tarkov has new ways to protect your legs in the long run.

A new grenade launcher

A box for storing grenades in the inventory to save space

New gadgets such as a hybrid device with night and thermal vision

A new animation to lean to one side while lying down

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A new medicine item to heal serious injuries

New, expensive clothes for USEC Group PMCs

A vest that can hold 14 magazines

The ability to make and trade clothes yourself

Escape from Tarkov: No playable women, development is "too complex"

 There are currently some controversial discussions about Escape from Tarkov. On Twitter there are numerous reactions to a tweet from developer Battlestate Games, who talks about female characters in the hardcore shooter.

The developers reject the possibility that there will be female playable characters in addition to the male soldiers in the MMO shooter. The reason: The modeling is too time-consuming - and moreover, playable soldiers would not match the background story of the game. There are women in the game in the form of traders and other NPCs, but no playable soldiers.

The developers do not explain how the lack of female soldiers from the cart is explained. In the wikis and homepage entries published so far, we did not come across any specific indications that could classify the statement. We have asked the developers and will add this message as soon as we receive an answer.

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The discussion has been going on since 2016

There is more to this discussion than meets the eye. Many critics refer to a 2016 interview where one of the developers of Escape from Tarkov has already responded to the question about female characters. At that time, the reason sounded different than in the current tweet: Women could not bear the burden of war, it said at the time.

"We thought about it, but then decided that women are not allowed in war. I agree [that women are active in real military, editor's note] and we discussed it extensively, but came to the conclusion that women can not handle that kind of stress. There's only room here for die-hard men. "

The developers are now distancing themselves from the statement made at the time. The employee was reprimanded for his statement that they respect women in the military and in wars and do not want to reduce their performance.

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The more recent justification that women are too difficult to model can therefore be seen as a reaction to the statement at the time. Battlestate Games are not the only developers to express themselves in this way on this question, by the way.

Because there were similar discussions with Assassin's Creed Unity. Another example: The developers of Hunt: Showdown, who promised female characters for the future, but nevertheless emphasized how complex it is to integrate a second body type into the game.