Escape from Tarkov apologises for PvE mode misstep, saying it "did not foresee such a reaction"
"Thank you for your time, love and hate, and for your increased attention to the current situation."
Escape from Tarkov developer Battlestate has released a second statement after it u-turned on a decision to lock an "exclusive" PvE mode to its €300 Unheard Edition following player feedback, saying it is "very sorry that fans and the game community in general are experiencing these feelings".
In the statement posted to Reddit, COO Nikita Buyanov said that they "somehow did not foresee the fact of such a reaction" and has now "decided to just open [the controversial PvE mode] for EoD owners for free".
On Friday (26th April), Matt reported that Escape from Tarkov developer Battlestate had drawn fan ire after unveiling a €250 (€300 after tax) special edition that, alongside some controversial special advantages, contains an exclusive co-op PvE mode that won't be made available to those that bought a previous edition.
It was this inclusion of an exclusive new co-op PvE mode that's caused the most consternation as Tarkov's previous Edge of Darkness Edition - now discontinued - promised purchasers would get "free access to all subsequent DLCs".
After a considerable backlash, Battlestate insisted that it is was not reneging on its promise to give End of Darkness edition owners "all subsequent DLCs" because "PvE gamemode is not DLC", but did then confirmed yesterday that, in light of players' "dissatisfaction", the team said it has "decided that the functionality of the PvE mode will be available for free to all owners of the EoD version at the release of the game, when the server infrastructure will be improved to the required capacity".
Now, Buyanov is going even further.
"Let me continue my feedback on the current situation," Buyanov posted earlier today. "First of all, I would like to say that I am very sorry that fans and the game community in general are experiencing these feelings. Unfortunately, I somehow did not foresee the fact of such a reaction and now I have drawn conclusions for my future decisions.
"About PvE access - we decided to just open it for EoD owners for free, but we will do it in waves. As I said before - we don’t have server capacity right now. We will start this process as soon as possible," Buyanov added. "We also decided that we will add MOD support for PvE mode after release of the game.
"About the Unheard edition - we will not remove it, we want to keep the option for those who want to support the game more. But we will balance items, perks in this edition, as well as we will provide more rewards for those, who upgraded with the old price."
Buyanov also said that "new EoD perks will be balanced too", and insisted that the team would "remove prioritised matching option to keep everyone in the same spot". Battlestate also says it will "add more unique stuff to highlight the EoD version in general", the final list of which will be available to players "asap". Further patches, content, and events will continue "no matter what".
"Thank you for your time, love and hate, and thank you for your increased attention to the current situation," Buyanov said in conclusion.