18 November 2025

Escape From Tarkov Game Director Apologizes For Rough Launch Amid Player Frustrations

By newsgame

Escape From Tarkov Game Director Nikita Buyanov has apologized for the game’s frustrating launch. The extraction shooter that helped popularize the genre had already amassed a dedicated fanbase leading up to its Version 1.0 release, but things did not go as planned when the long-awaited day finally came. Many Escape From Tarkov players are still facing issues, but Buyanov has promised that help is on the way.

Battlestate Games announced that Escape From Tarkov was finally getting a full launch in August 2025, targeting a November release date. The game had already been in beta for years and had a limited alpha test before that, so excitement was high leading up to Version 1.0. However, fans quickly ran into problems when the game fully opened up to the public.

Escape from Tarkov Prepares ‘Tricks’ for Cheaters Ahead of 1.0 Release

Escape from Tarkov is getting new anti-cheat measures alongside its 1.0 release, but its developer already knows fans won’t be happy with them.

Escape From Tarkov Director Apologizes for Bugs and Server Issues After Review-Bombing

Buyanov wasted no time in issuing an apology to fans after Escape From Tarkov got review-bombed on Steam immediately following its release. The director opened by thanking fans for their “overwhelming interest” in the game, referencing the widespread server issues many players ran into. The review-bombing stemmed largely from excessive wait times and related matchmaking difficulties, but Buynov promised that fixes were coming down the pipeline. According to the post, Battlestate Games is already adding more servers to ease some of the frustrations, and other bug fixes and optimizations will come in future months. Buyanov didn’t dive into specifics about the bugs Battlestate is prioritizing, but a reply to a fan in the comments confirms that the team will address a glitch that’s currently locking Standard Edition players out of some traders.

The apology also promised Battlestate Games would continue to provide “actual fans” with more of what they want. Buyanov had previously said he wasn’t worried about the possibility of Escape From Tarkov getting review-bombed, saying a “small percentage of people” among the game’s large player base will likely hate the studio, so distinguishing between “actual” fans and the rest seems to echo that same idea. Regardless of whether Buyanov believes the review-bombing is coming from real fans or not, he does admit there is work left to do on the game and that the team is sorry for its rough launch.

Tarkov is far from the first game to experience server issues and bugs at launch, and devs are aware of the issue, so things will likely smooth out in the near future, although the timeline for all fixes remains unclear. Battlestate Games has more in store apart from these patches and upgrades, too. Buyanov has confirmed that Escape From Tarkov will get a console version and DLC in the future, so fans should keep their eyes peeled.