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Recommended reading Escape from Tarkov begins to quietly U-turn after last week's hardcore wipe left players penniless and bored to tears with the grind Escape From Tarkov blindsides players with immediately controversial 'Hardcore Wipe' that removes quests and disables most maps The best FPS games on PC Third Person Shooter Arc Raiders: All the key details on the most exciting extraction shooter of 2025 Amid sweeping changes, it's refreshing to see that the Battlefield 6 beta was an actual playtest, and not a glorified demo Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest Stormgate is leaving early access before it's technically finished: 'We believe that our campaign and 1v1 are ready for a broader audience' Escape From Tarkov After stretching the definition of 'beta' for 8 years, Escape From Tarkov is finally hitting 1.0 Tyler Wilde 22 August 2025 The ultra-influential extraction shooter will finally be "released" in November. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Battlestate Games) 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. Related Articles Escape from Tarkov begins to quietly U-turn after last week's hardcore wipe left players penniless and bored to tears with the grind Escape From Tarkov blindsides players with immediately controversial 'Hardcore Wipe' that removes quests and disables most maps The best FPS games on PC "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. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Best gaming rigs 2025All our favorite gear 👉Check out our list of guides👈 1. Best gaming laptop: Razer Blade 16 2. Best gaming PC: HP Omen 35L 3. Best handheld gaming PC: Lenovo Legion Go S SteamOS ed. 4. Best mini PC: Minisforum AtomMan G7 PT 5. Best VR headset: Meta Quest 3 Tyler Wilde Social Links Navigation Editor-in-Chief, US Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Escape from Tarkov begins to quietly U-turn after last week's hardcore wipe left players penniless and bored to tears with the grind Escape From Tarkov blindsides players with immediately controversial 'Hardcore Wipe' that removes quests and disables most maps The best FPS games on PC Arc Raiders: All the key details on the most exciting extraction shooter of 2025 Amid sweeping changes, it's refreshing to see that the Battlefield 6 beta was an actual playtest, and not a glorified demo Splitgate 2's official launch is just days away as devs tease 'a massive surprise' which will be unveiled at Summer Game Fest Latest in FPS Amid sweeping changes, it's refreshing to see that the Battlefield 6 beta was an actual playtest, and not a glorified demo You've got approximately 12 months left to enjoy Overwatch 2 because it just got the Persona 5 collaboration kiss of death Nightdive's System Shock 2 remaster now supports 26 years of mods and fan missions To the dismay of sweaty 'movement kids,' Battlefield 6 is nerfing Call of Duty sliding and jumping to maintain a 'traditional Battlefield experience' EA just confirmed the most popular class in the Battlefield 6 beta, and it shines a spotlight on a major balance problem Splitgate fans, rejoice: Peer-to-peer multiplayer is coming next week, so you can keep on playing after the servers shut down Latest in News Even more games are moving out of Silksong's way: 'I feel like a little krill trying not to get eaten by a blue whale' Enshrouded's next big update is bringing way more water to the survival RPG than I expected 'I think the United States should be given 10% of Intel': US president Trump wants a piece of the action, says CEO Lip Bu Tan has already forked over $10 billion because he wants to 'keep his job' Metal Gear Solid Delta still lets you wait two weeks for a boss to die of old age⁠—or mess with your system clock to cheat him out of his final fight Dawn of War 4 developer King Art knows what you all really want: 'Overwhelmingly, it's singleplayer content and the campaign' Everyone's heading back to Hollow Knight for one last go before Silksong comes out—the game's all-time Steam peak is rising as I write this headline HARDWARE BUYING GUIDES LATEST GAME REVIEWS Best Hall effect keyboards in 2025: the fastest, most customisable keyboards for competitive gaming Best PCIe 5.0 SSD for gaming in 2025: the only Gen 5 drives I will allow in my PC Best graphics cards in 2025: I've tested pretty much every AMD and Nvidia GPU of the past 20 years and these are today's top cards Best gaming laptop in 2025: I've put the best of this new generation head-to-head and we have a winner Best gaming chair in 2025: I've tested a ton of gaming chairs and these are the seats I'd suggest for any PC gamer Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater review: Safe, but excellent Elgato 4K S review MSI Stealth 18 HX AI review MSI MPG CoreLiquid P13 360 review Asus ROG Falcata PC Gamer is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 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