Escape from Tarkov, a primary influence on the extraction shooter genre, is still technically in beta, if you can believe it, but it won't be for long.
Eight years after opening its doors to players, Tarkov will finally hit 1.0 on November 15, 2025, a day after Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 releases.
According to developer Battlestate Games, the shooter has received more than 400 updates during its beta period.
"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to every player whose dedication and active participation throughout the testing period played a key role in the development of Escape from Tarkov," said the studio.
Eight years really stretches the definition of a "beta," and Tarkov is of course far from the only game to do so. Star Citizen is probably the most dramatic active example: 12 years after its first playable module released, the space sim's latest version is "Alpha 4.3.0." Not even beta yet!
At this point, I'm resigned to a future where "beta" and "early access" just mean the same thing as "released." In cases like Tarkov, they basically already do: No one really shrugs off the beta's flaws because "it's not out yet," especially as money's being spent on it.
Case in point: A number of Tarkov players were mighty unhappy recently after a big patch that reset player progress and altered the economy and progression.
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