Earlier today, I was messing around online, and I saw some people posting images about how many games have destroyed, or at least try destroy the extraction-based first-person shooter by Battlestate Games, Escape From Tarkov. That, itself, speaks about how strong Escape From Tarkov is, and let’s be honest, there’s a lot to discuss on this subject.
Since its first arrival, Escape From Tarkov has caught the attention of other developers worldwide, who have wanted to recreate or maybe even improve the extraction shooter experience. But guess what? Not many have succeeded, but some contestants are still out there. With that said, let’s look at them and their current position.
The failures
It all started with Hazard Zone, Call of Duty’s DMZ, and The Cycle: Frontier, for which we created tons of guides. Then, there was The Day Before, which shut down as soon as it released. They have had their own imaginations to create an extraction shooter similar to Tarkov, and they were not even close to it.
Some other video games are somewhat managing to keep a solid player base, but nothing close to what EFT has. Arena Breakout: Infinite, the mobile shooter that traversed to the PC platform and had a great opportunity to tackle Tarkov, has been a victim of backlash due to its real-money transactions. A backlash that seems to be bigger than BSG’s Unheard Edition. ABI has officially started its journey 3 days ago, on August 13. Now, with Tarkov’s wipe scheduled for August 20, I’d expect to see ABI’s player base bashed even more. But sure enough, ABI has managed to hold its ground so far, so we’ll see where it goes from here.
I also see a lot of people comparing Gray Zone Warfare to Tarkov. We played GZW a lot, and created tons of guides for it. Based on my personal experience, I cannot compare Gray Zone Warfare to Escape From Tarkov simply because it reminds me more of Arma Wasteland than anything else. Its map proportions are also huge, making it an open-world experience.
However, there’s one game that I had the opportunity to play, and that is Delta Force, which has a solid chance of exceeding Tarkov in some places. It’s still too early, yeah, and only time will tell. Not only does the game seem promising, but the devs appear to have a perfectly planned future and in-game monetization. It will be far away from what Arena Breakout Infinite is, and that’s generally the right direction any developer should take without making it feel like just another plagiarist game.
Last but not least, there are other games coming that will also tackle the Extraction Shooter genre. One of them is Bungie’s Marathon, which should be released sometime in 2025. Well, that’s about it. I don’t know if there will be any other games that try to take over the genre itself, but I don’t believe they would have the tools to succeed.
What do you think about this? Do you agree or disagree with the list above? Let me know in the comments below!
Totally Agree.