Everything we know about Escape From Tarkov on console

Nicholas James Published 05/01/2023

Escape From Tarkov is a hardcore persistent survival shooter set in post-apocalyptic Russia that’s been a huge hit on PC. But is Escape From Tarkov coming to console?

Escape From Tarkov is an incredibly unique shooter, having pioneered a niche genre of its own. The game eschews quality-of-life choices that make games less punishing and more enjoyable for casual audiences for a granular realism that allows hardcore fans to pave their own path.

Right now, it’s only available on PC, but will Escape From Tarkov be making its way to console at some point in the future?

Are there any plans for Escape From Tarkov to come to console?

At the moment, there have been no concrete announcements about moving Escape From Tarkov from PC to gaming consoles, though developer Battlestate Games has expressed interest in the idea.

Escape From Tarkov offers a few significant hurdles to a console port that make it harder than most games to be brought to Xbox, PlayStation, and the like. Firstly, even on PC, it is a rather demanding game that has had notable performance issues and a lack of optimization throughout its history. The game has often left performance behind in the name of maintaining its unique creative vision, and the limitations of console hardware make these aspects significant obstacles.

https://twitter.com/bstategames/status/1607470752877670400?s=20&t=UeF8gYsxAEP6sCF5tzg3dQ

That’s not to say that Battlestate Games doesn’t want to bring their hardcore post-collapse Russian world to TVs across the world, just that it hasn’t happened yet.

Game director Nikita Bunyanov mentioned that he was speaking with other developers about possibly porting Escape From Tarkov over to console in 2020, and reaffirmed that the studio was still interested in bringing the game to a wider audience through consoles again in late 2021. However, since then there has been no official announcement of any developments when it comes to Escape From Tarkov on console.

The game also presents certain mechanical issues, specifically precise controls and a bevy of hotkeys and usable items at any given time that could be difficult to translate to console controls. PC players in Tarkov are able to handle commands for aiming, leaning, reloading, checking magazines, clearing weapon jams, grenades, medical supplies, and more through a mix of keyboard prompts. The limited number of inputs on console controllers presents a significant issue for the developer when looking to move the game over to a new platform.

Escape From Tarkov Xbox and PS5 release date

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There is no currently announced release date for Tarkov coming to any consoles. While Battlestate Games is likely still interested in expanding its game to more players, there doesn’t appear to be any concrete progress toward that goal.

With Escape From Tarkov still in its prerelease phase, and tons of promised content yet to be developed and released, an expansion of available platforms seems unlikely to be on its way any time in the next two years.

Battlestate Games still has its hands full with the PC version of the game, so an entirely new version of that game to be available on a new system while it is still being developed is unlikely.

Nicholas James

About Nicholas James

Nicholas James is a gaming writer with a passion for all things geekdom, as well as live theater. Nicholas is best known for covering League of Legends and other top MOBA titles, but his expertise covers numerous games across multiple genres. When not watching the LCS or playing the latest new release, Nicholas can be found doing some tabletop gaming and painting his favorite miniatures. Nicholas has also published with Hotspawn, TheGamer, Dexerto, Esports.gg and other industry outlets.

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