Will Escape From Tarkov Come to Consoles?

Is there a possibility that Escape From Tarkov could branch off to other gaming platforms?

Escape From Tarkov has come a long way. While it’s had a rough start, the gritty battle royale has been a great success, with thousands of players returning to the title repeatedly to see what’s new after every wipe. With so much praise from its fans, you’d think that Battlestate Games would be clamoring behind the scenes, trying to make a port available for consoles. Escape From Tarkov has been in beta for a few years now, so it’s normal for players to include the possibility of being able to farm Tarkov items  beyond just the PC in the future. The Xbox and PlayStation consoles would make the perfect homes for EFT—imagine doing Scavs on a large 4k television. If that doesn’t sound like a dream, then I don’t know what is.

Is There A Release Date for EFT On Consoles?

Sadly, there’s no confirmed release date as of yet for the console ports of Escape From Tarkov. But don’t fret just yet, non-PC players, because EFT’s console release is already semi-planned for a long time.

Despite no concrete announcement or official headliners from Battlestate Games regarding their game coming to Xbox or PlayStation, Nikita Buyanov, the game director of the company, stated in a 2020 interview that a console release for Escape From Tarkov is planned, and they’re actively talking to publishers (during that time).

Then, in December 2021, a lead game developer from BattleState Gamers confirmed that the team was focusing on bringing Escape From Tarkov to consoles—the possibility is in the cards. Now, let’s remember that EFT is still not a finished product—the Tarkov market is still on beta access, after all. Thus, it’ll take the team a bit of time before officially confirming a release date for the console ports, mainly because of the development teams' processes regarding the actual porting.

Could Xbox and PlayStation Run Escape From Tarkov?

It’s understandable to be concerned whether Escape From Tarkov would work on the console. Considering that it’s a complex game , many are worried that the mechanics might not transfer well when Battlestate Games swap their keyboard and mouse combo for a controller.

What’s more, optimization has always been the weak point for BattleState Games when trying to improve EFT—it’s the main reason we still don’t have the Streets of Tarkov map in the game. As such, performance issues could be a potential road blocker.

Although the game’s stability might be an issue, it’s silly to think that the current generation of consoles we have would struggle to run it. The Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 offer some of the best gaming visuals right now—and you don’t need to pay a premium for it as opposed to purchasing PC components worth over a thousand buckaroos.

How A Console Release Benefits Escape From Tarkov

There are many other benefits of Escape From Tarkov making its way to consoles. Arguably the big one is that there’ll be a lot more people who can play the game. People don’t always have a gaming laptop or PC that’s powerful enough to handle high-res titles. You can argue that getting a PlayStation 5 isn’t as accessible either (due to the limited stocks), but if you compare the cost of it (assuming you buy it at SRP) to building a custom PC, it’s a much better deal.

Moreover, EFT coming to consoles could also mean that Battlestate Games might enable cross-play. There would be no barriers between players, no matter what platform they’d choose to play the game. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an increase in cross-play-enabled games. It’s a thrill to be able to play with your friends regardless of where they play.

One Can Hope

As it stands, there’s been no hard-hitting evidence to suggest that we might be getting a console version of Escape From Tarkov this year. Heck, it’s not even clear whether Battlestate Games is working on it right now—even if they said it was planned. Then there’s also the fact that the PC version of EFT and the Tarkov market is far from finished, so don’t expect any console port any time soon. For now, players can only farm Escape From Tarkov items on PC, and the game is currently in closed beta. If EFT comes to consoles, it will most likely be after the beta period for PC ends.