Escape From Tarkov alpha test will begin in August

Escape From Tarkov is the game that, as we said earlier this year, is “taking gun customization to absurd heights.” More to the point, it's a very STALKER-looking online FPS with MMO and RPG elements including a usage-based skill system and a dynamic in-game economy, in which players take up arms on behalf of mercenary companies doing battle inside the sealed-off city of Tarkov. It was announced last year and it's looking pretty good so far, and today developer Battle State Games announced that alpha testing will begin on August 4. 

The developers are taking a very cautious approach to the matter, saying that it's not going to simply open the doors to the public because doing so “does not serve any purpose.”   

“Alpha testing should not only polish the project and add content, but thoroughly balance and flesh out the details of game mechanics,” the studio wrote. “This is why we have formed a perfectly clear vision of what alpha testing should include—the version of the game where we could solve all of these tasks together!” 

There's no indication as to how many players will be accepted into the alpha, but if yelling at strangers in Russian and then shooting them in the face sounds like your kind of thing (how could it not?), you can put your name in the hat at escapefromtarkov.com.
 

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Latest in FPS
Fragpunk
Somebody finally figured out casual Counter-Strike
Image for
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s getting a new roguelite wave defense mode that sounds a whole lot like a souped-up take on Killing Floor
Destiny 2: Season of Plunder promo image.
'We made one big mistake': Destiny 2 developer reveals how a small team dedicated to player retention led to a 20 hour server outage and character rollback
Bears in Space
I downloaded this bear-obsessed comedy FPS to kill time before Doom: The Dark Ages and discovered the most underrated shooter on Steam
Soldiers
Atomfall review
A monster made of glowing skulls has a brinrevolver aimed at it in Abyssus.
Wield a brinerevolver as a brinehunter in Abyssus, the briniest ‘brinepunk’ shooter this side of the Mariana Trench
Latest in News
Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer still - woman in the front seat of a car, looking out the back window while holding a wad of cash
The specter of a GTA 6 delay haunts the games industry: 'Some companies are going to tank' if they guess wrong, says analyst
Image for
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s getting a new roguelite wave defense mode that sounds a whole lot like a souped-up take on Killing Floor
Battle Brothers
Nearly 2 years after its last update, the excellent Battle Brothers gets 'a bucket load of fixes' and free new content
Western outlaws with masks and guns
'Players don't explore': former Grand Theft Auto 6 and Red Dead Online designer lays out the perils of 'open world fatigue'
Person battling bizarre four-eyed monster with stylish UI elements surrounding them
Persona and Metaphor: ReFantazio's UI designer is open to accessibility options for players who find the stylish menus overstimulating: 'That is something we understand we'll need to work on and provide in the future'
Split Fiction screenshot
Split Fiction is reportedly at the center of a bidding war for its movie rights