New Escape From Tarkov PvE mode exclusive to pricey Unheard edition despite promises of free DLC
Community manager insists mode doesn't qualify as DLC
Escape From Tarkov, the extraction FPS from developer Battlestate, recently put up a new Unheard edition of the game for pre-order, and tarkov escapers aren't happy about it. The price for this bundle - which includes a new mode, a bigger stash, and assorted gubbins - comes in at $250, or around two actual hundred actual pounds, but the price alone isn’t necessarily what’s got a section of the player base so tarked-off that a few of them are even loudly considering a lawsuit.
The actual issue is twofold: the edition is being called pay-to-win, and is also the only way to access said new PvE co-op mode, despite players previously shelling out notable nuggets for what was pitched as access to "all subsequent DLCs" as part of the now-delisted Edge of Darkness edition.
As spotted by Ian Games of the Ian Games Network, features of the Unheard edition such as "expanded PMC pockets" and "increased Fence standing" are effectively paid advantages, although if any Tarkov players would care to expand on the specifics below, I’d appreciate it. Games that have "escape from" in the title give me anxiety, unless they’re followed by "Monkey Island".
The real straw that got stuck in the craw of the camel’s albatross here, however, seems to be the issue around the promise of future content being included in the previous expensive edition. That said, players that already own Edge of Darkness will receive a $150 discount on Unheard, bringing the price down to $100. Or two and a half Helldivers 2s. Or, like, six Balatros. It’s still a lot of money, is what they’re saying. Which it is.
As caught by Forbes, Tarkov’s community manager has responded to this consternation on Discord, saying:
“It ain't DLC, its unique feature of the new edition added. DLC means additional downloadable content. PvE is a feature and a gamemode...just because you all want it to become a DLC it wouldn't mean it is one. It’s [a] featured game mode for the new edition of the game.”
The official Tarkov account have also put out a statement on Xitter, echoing much the same sentiment.
It is a bit of a slippery slope, I think, veering into the territory where ‘DLC’ starts to mean whatever the people charging for it want it to. I’d say a game mode probably qualifies, although I’m not familiar with how Tarkov usually does things. What do you think of it all? Should individual developers get the last word on what they feel comfortable or correct charging for, or should there be some sort of definitive standard content should meet before it warrants a price tag? I paid fifteen pounds for a portion of chips with curry sauce and some nuggies yesterday, and I reckon that sauce should have been on the house. It wasn’t even especially good sauce.