Thank You, Escape From Tarkov

(Intro)

Escape From Tarkov releases as 1.0 on November 15th, 2025. Which is something a lot of us never really thought was going to happen. Recently, Nikita has said the game has officially gone gold, which means it is feature complete and ready to be delivered in a patch to come on that release date. Sometimes, it feels like just yesterday I played this game for the first time. I still have fond memories of my initial experiences and how obtuse and overwhelming the game was. Through the highs and lows, the good and the bad, the community has mostly stuck around and witnessed a lot of what this game has to offer. So many years; so many changes. Today, I wanted to just reflect on Tarkov. Both as a game, and what it has done for myself personally and what I hope it ends up doing once 1.0 goes live. Let’s be real, for anyone who’s played for a long time; we all know what to expect. It won’t be very different. Just some additional quests, a proper end game goal of escaping and some new gear for us to use. But, if I may and if you’ll indulge me, I want to put all the bad this game has to offer aside for just a moment or two, talk about the good, and nothing but it. A moment for the community and anyone who sees this video to just look back fondly at our time with this game and to share some of our greatest, most hilarious and genuinely positive experiences we had playing EFT. So, I would humbly request that you do the same once you’re done watching and please leave a comment down below talking about the good that Tarkov has done for you. Because EFT despite everything, is one of the best games I’ve ever played. And to that I say, thank you, Escape From Tarkov.

(Starting in 2017)

I think I’ve gone over this a few times across multiple videos, but I first began playing Tarkov around September 2017. I remember seeing a gentleman by the name Devil Dog Gamer play the game and start with his entire stash empty and working up from there. Something about seeing him around naked on Factory hitting people with the hatchet combined with the scav runs he would do in between was enough for me to check the game out. Knowing absolutely nothing, my first experience was going into the game, also as a scav but on nighttime Woods of all places because I didn’t know there was a day and night cycle. Not being able to see anything, a dread washed over me the likes of which I had never experienced before. I aimlessly walked around until someone started shooting at me, to which I hid in a ditch and tried to fight back. I used all my ammo, took a ton of damage, but ended up taking down my foe, only to quickly bleed out after. I remember just sitting there at the post death screen and being like ‘oh so this is what the game is about’ and from there, spent a couple of weeks just messing around and losing all different kinds of fight because I had no idea what I was doing. It was then I started watching more videos about the game and learning about the elusive Factory exit key, which at the time, and this is how much of a dummy I was, I thought back in 2017 if you entered Factory you could not extract unless you had the key on you. And so, I spend multiple weeks in a row just farming Customs, running to the first-floor office on dorms to try and get it. Unfortunately, I never found it, and whatever scraps of loot I had acquired randomly disappeared one day because the game was wiping constantly back then.

But that was my first general experience with the game. And it’s still funny when I look back and reflect on that experience. Just so uninformed, jumping headfirst into easily one of the hardest games I’ve ever played, and just having a blast. And I think that is something I truly miss about old Tarkov. And it’s something I discussed years ago in for a while my most popular video, about how old Tarkov had such a different vibe about not only the game’s mood and atmosphere, but the general experience from a new player. There was a sheer lack of content and literature about the game years ago, so many people were just adapting on the fly and figuring things out as they go. And there is truly something special about a game that has a small but dedicated following just riffing on it and not really caring about what happens next. Until Reserve was added, this game by all accounts was small. Which wasn’t a bad thing; those that found the game and enjoyed the difficulty, ambiguity and obtuse gameplay learned to eventually love how different it was from the masses. I certainly fell into that camp, especially early on. And I found reasons to keep playing, keep improving and not give up. I had these weird phases where I would obsess about different guns I saw and wanted to use. The first one was for some reason the suppressed TT pistol, and then it was the MPX, and then a really specific build on the M4, and those were my motivations to keep playing. I wanted to use these guns and figure out how to get my hands on them consistently. So, I kept playing. It took a very long time, but eventually I started to get a grasp of the game, and from there it was a matter of just getting the reps in. And that was about to change, as BSG released arguably one of the most important updates to Tarkov, that would ultimately change everything for everyone.

(Reserve and Patch 0.12)

The world of Tarkov and the game we knew fundamentally changed with patch 0.12. In it, we got a host of new equipment to play around with, new clothing options for the first time, medical items to repair body parts that had been lost, the first iteration of the hideout, and much more. On top of the patch, a few months later, BSG hosted Tarkov’s first Twitch drops event, and the number of people interested in the game hit the stratosphere. There had never been more people watching, playing, or talking about Tarkov in the game’s life up until this point. For the first time, everyone was playing the game; everyone was talking about it. And it was hard to escape the allure of EFT when so many new people had become interested in it. Whether it was just for the free items that came with watching streamers, it didn’t really matter. Because now, Tarkov had hit the mainstream in a way, I don’t think BSG was ever ready for or even wanted. But this genie could not be put back into the bottle. So many more people were sharing their first experiences in the game, and so many more people were providing the resources needed to become successful in this game. It was a strange feedback loop; as more people yearned and hungered for information, creators were more than happy to oblige. And this just made people crave even more information and strategies to become better at Tarkov. This was as close to a “renaissance” for this game that I think we’ve ever had. The game was selling more, people were enjoying the game more and overall, it was just a fun time to be a part of the community. I fondly remember these times because this was when most of my friends were playing and getting into all different kinds of shenanigans across the game. Completing quests, trying to level up while fighting players, running Reserve to farm the raiders that spawned. And this was before D-2 was introduced; almost all of the fighting was done on the ground level and in the buildings. By this point, I understood most of the game with the exception of Labs; I still wasn’t really risking it all on that map, but most other locations I felt comfortable running around and getting into trouble. This was also the point where I still hated maps like Interchange, whereas nowadays, I have a much deeper appreciation for that level but still wish it would get some love the roadmap this year said it was going to get.

(Starting the channel)

April of 2021 was where I started the channel. Well, technically I’ve had this account since 2011, but April was when I started making videos about Tarkov. Originally, it was just cobbled together clips from some raids, but quickly turned into montages of raids with music in the background, and then eventually landing on this style or format of just talking about the game at a deeper level while tackling a variety of topics, mechanics, iterations, the good and the bad. And I’ve enjoyed it every step of way. And while three and a half thousand subs aren’t a ton, to me, it’s the amount of work I’ve out into this channel that makes me both happy and proud to not only have made those videos but to be a part of the Tarkov community. Even if I am a small voice, people still listen and give their thoughts, which is all I’ve ever wanted from the channel to be brutally honest. Making these videos has gotten me to think about Tarkov from so many different angles, and because the game has so many layers to it, we’ve gone on and on over all the little intricacies revolving the game and what makes Tarkov so different compared to pretty much any other game on the market. Tarkov is uniquely its own thing; for better or worse. And documenting that over the last four years has been such a joy. And seeing how the game has evolved, and all the new iterations that have come to exist has been fascinating to watch. And honestly, seeing it about to go 1.0 makes me excited, but also, a little sad. It’s truly the end of an era as we know it. The memories will be around forever, but this version of the game will cease to exist. We won’t be able to go back and experience a beta version of Tarkov anymore. And there’s something unfortunate whenever a game loses a version that can never be reclaimed.

(Tone and atmosphere)

One thing that still stands out to me as the years went on was how the general tone and atmosphere of the game's world changed as time went on. Compared to the game now, it felt so much darker and grittier. Something I think many people who have played this game for a long time have noticed. A slow but subtle change from a difficult and immersive battle simulator to something a little more lighthearted. Even though we have elements and characters in the game that hint and a much nastier world, for some reason there is this, and I hate to use this word, silliness in the air across the game. It’s not bad per say, but much different from versions of the game from long ago. But one thing that hasn’t missed in any Tarkov era is the music. The first thing I remember hearing when booting the game up for the first time was Nikita’s amazing soundtrack he made for this game. Almost every song he has produced is awesome and perfectly encapsulates what Tarkov is as a game and what the expectation should be going into it. And the first song I ever heard was ‘Dark Horizon’. Which to me personally is the most beautiful track he has ever produced and an absolute masterpiece to convey Tarkov’s emotion. I still get emotional listening to this day. It’s this hauntingly dark and brooding song that just conveys suffering, pain, and misery. Which back in 2017, was kind of the goal of the game. To make you suffer through it and learn to enjoy the pain of trial and error. Again, and again; build a new kit and go back in. Don’t stop, until the deed is done. And even then, your job is not over, in fact, it’s never over. You’re stuck in Tarkov, and until you get out, you will have to fight your way out.

(Outro)

Escape From Tarkov has come such a long way. Do I wish it took less time to get here? Sure. Do I wish things had been handled differently across most of the game’s life? Sure. But at the end of the day, we are finally seeing this game hit what BSG and Nikita believe to be a 1.0 ready version of the game. And no matter how you feel about it, it’s a time to celebrate. So many people have come and gone through Tarkov; so many experiences have been shared across the internet. And so many people have learned to love this game and what it means to enjoy a difficult game. And I mean that in every way. From gameplay, menus, quests, everything. It isn’t perfect; it never will be. It isn’t bug free; it never will be. It isn’t cheater free; it never will be. But I wouldn’t trade any experience I’ve had with this game for anything. It means too much to me. And as someone who sometimes gets stuck living in the past, reflecting on what has already happened because it's comforting to already know the outcome, I just smile when I look back at older times with this game. There’s only a handful of games that have had this much of a lasting impression on me where I even to this day look back fondly at my memories with it. I’m so happy I was a part of this development cycle, even in a small capacity. But now I would like to look forwards. To 1.0, where we don’t know what’s in store, but whatever it might be, I want to welcome it with open arms and give it my best effort possible. And I hope you’ll do the same. So, thank you Battlestate Games, thank you Nikita, and thank you, Escape From Tarkov. For making a game that I will never forget. Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video. Let me down in the comment section below your thoughts and experiences with older versions of Tarkov, if you’re excited for 1.0 and be sure to subscribe for more videos going over all the new stuff that comes with this momentous update. I hope to see you in future ones.