A trailer has arrived forEscape From Tarkov’s highly anticipated 0.13 patch, featuring new gameplay mechanics, an all-new map, under-barrel grenade launchers, and several additional guns. Many fans are thrilled over what is being hailed asEscape From Tarkov’smost expansive patch to date.
Initially released as a closed alpha in 2016,Escape From Tarkovhelped define the extraction shooter genre with its unforgiving mil-sim mechanics and cutthroat PvPvE gameplay loop. Going through a series of significantadditions and shakeups toEscape From Tarkov, the ebb and flow of the gamefunctions on wipes with each of its considerable patches, as player progression and inventory are reset, and its world forged anew every time fresh content is introduced. The last patch which included a wipe occurred in June 2022, consisting of an addition to its Lighthouse map, an expanded offline co-op mode, several weapons, and a cadre of bug fixes and graphical improvements. With scant communication between Battlestate Games and its fan base, the time between patches is rife with player speculation while the next wipe looms large.
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After fans made their best estimates for the launch date forEscape From Tarkov’s0.13 patch, Battlestate Games finally released a trailer featuring several new weapons being used on its years-in-the-making Streets of Tarkov map. The ninth playablemap added toEscape From Tarkov,and by far the game’s most ambitious, Streets of Tarkov was first teased in 2020 (with a scrapped version of the map shown as far back as 2018). The two-minute clip highlights a sense of scale and verticality never seen inEscape From Tarkov’splayable spaces, encapsulating why the map has taken this long to reach fruition. While the trailer did not include a release date, the announcement of a Twitch Drops event forEscape From Tarkovon December 29 and the steady stream of pre-wipe events over the month of December makes it a safe assumption that the patch’s launch is imminent.
Beyond the Streets of Tarkov map, other additions shown off in the trailer include the Steyr AUG, Ash 12 revolver, and SR2MP weapons. Discerning fans also noticed the last frame of the clip teases what many believe to be the new Lighthouse Keeper NPC and trader. As istypical forEscape From Tarkov, there is sure to be plenty of additional content included with 0.13 that Battlestate Games does not want to be spoiled. That trademark mystique has left some fans tepid over the announcement, wondering why there was so much buildup for a quick glance at things they already knew were coming.
Thehype surroundingEscape From Tarkov’s0.13 patch is resounding. Part of the player base feels the game had stagnated over the course of 2022 but remains hopeful that the conjunction of a fresh wipe and new map can breathe life back into a game that is wholly unlike any other (imitators notwithstanding). Time will tell whether the excitement is merited, but for now, the hype springs eternal forEscape From Tarkovfans.
