Battlestate Games has released two brand new patches for its hit multiplayer tactical first-person shooter series, Escape from Tarkov, with patch 0.16 coming out for the base game and the other coming for the standalone spinoff Escape from Tarkov: Arena, titled update 0.2.5.
Escape from Tarkov beta 0.16 is set to add plenty of new features, including reworked locations, customs, a new in-game event, and lots of new content. The patch also adds seven new guns :
- Aklys Defense Velociraptor .300 Blackout assault rifle
- Akula push dagger
- FN SCAR-H X-17 7.62×51 assault rifle
- RShG-2 72.5mm rocket launcher
- Saiga-12K 12ga automatic shotgun
- Sako TRG M10 .338 LM bolt-action sniper rifle
- V40 Mini-Grenade
Escape from Tarkov: Arena patch 0.2.5 adds in winter locations, a reworked Equator, a new in-game event called Christmas Time, and a fair amount of balancing changes. Those balancing changes include unlocking ammo types for Assault, Scout, and Marksmen guns, increasing Enforcer defense metascore by 1000 MP, and lowering the cost of MP for 5.45×39 and 7.62×39 weapons by 10-30%.
Escape from Tarkov originally launched back in 2017, placing players in the midst of a war between two private military companies: United Security “USEC” and the Battle Encounter Assault Regiment “BEAR.” The objective after joining multiplayer matches is to fight other players and bots for loot long enough to make it to the extraction point and survive.
The game became a hit thanks to its focus on realistic survival and combat skills, growing a popular, niche community as a result. It is still currently in early access format. In 2023, Batlestate Games released a standalone spinoff of sorts called Escape from Tarkov: Arena.
Escape from Tarkov: Arena is more of a traditional team deathmatch style format, placing players into groups and having them compete against one another in an arena using the tactics and knowledge they learned in the original. Each title is available now for PC.
