Escape from Tarkov's community goes up in flames over the most expensive edition's pricing and content changes
That's a big yikes from us.
The Escape from Tarkov community hasn't received well the news of a brand-new most expensive edition replacing the old one and barring them from a previously promised DLC, among other things.
While it's been continuously praised over the last few years as one of the best online FPS games on the market and the king of the 'extraction' subgenre, Escape from Tarkov's approach to pricing and paid upgrades has always been iffy to say the least, and the Unheard Edition's announcement might've been the straw that breaks the camel's back.
According to developer Battlestate Games, the Unheard Edition gives players "access to PvE co-op mode with persistent progression... enhanced stash size (10x72), unique in-game ID, armband and many more features." As far as we can tell, this new co-op mode isn't the same as the 'Practice' one already being sold as an upgrade for 10 euros or around $10.70 (regional pricing may vary).
If we look at the main 'Purchase' page, the previous Edge of Darkness edition (the most expensive one) is now gone and has been replaced by the aforementioned Unheard Edition, which costs 250 euros, about $267.90. There are, of course, cheaper paths to grab the game with fewer upgrades, but the main issue here is that Edge of Darkness edition owners had been told they'd get all future DLCs for free. At the moment of writing, EoD players apparently have to pay $100 USD (as an upgrade) to get the new Unheard perks and access to the co-op PvE mode.
Looking at the ongoing Twitter and Reddit chatter, things aren't looking very pretty, and the confusing wording and structuring of the purchase and upgrade pages, as well as each edition's descriptions, make this whole mess an even bigger headache. The sole fact Battlestate is selling massively overpriced editions of the PvP game that feel like huge boosts, especially in the early game, has always been alarming, but this takes things to a whole new level.
Battlestate hasn't released an official statement yet, nor started to answer the players' most pressing questions, so we'll keep an eye on situation as it unfolds and return with updates if neccessary.