Escape from Tarkov fans have criticized Battlestate Games after the developer confirmed players will be required to repurchase the full game if they want to play it on Steam.
The tactical extraction shooter released in early access back in 2017 and recently confirmed it’s finally moving to version 1.0 on November 15, 2025. Alongside side the 1.0 launch, Escape from Tarkov is finally coming to Steam.
However, a quick study of Escape from Tarkov’s FAQs reveals that even those who’ve been playing the shooter through its bespoke launcher for years “must purchase” the game again if they’d like to add it to their Steam libraries.
“To play Escape from Tarkov through Steam, you must purchase any edition of the game on Steam,” the FAQ explains. “You can then link your existing Battlestate Games account with an active copy of the game to your Steam profile. If the editions differ, it will automatically use the higher edition of the two when launching the game through Steam.”
While players will continue to be able to play via Battlestate’s own launcher, some fans have slammed the developer for not providing free Steam keys, particularly as both Steam and launcher players will share the same servers, and all players, regardless of platform, require a Battlestate account.
“There are no excuses for buying an extra Steam copy just to play from an existing account,” said one player. “The developer has the tools to hand out Steam keys to players who already own the game outside Steam as the developers of Path of Exile 2 did etc.”
“This is pretty scummy,” one player wrote, while another said: “Holy s**t. BSG has absolutely zero respect for their fans.”
One comment that has had hundreds of upvotes said: “it might be reasonable if there WASN’T account linking that took place, [or] if you bought on Steam, you had to register as a brand new account with whatever version you purchased. The fact that you can link an existing account and it automatically upgrades to the higher version is what doesn’t sit right with me. You drop $30 for the Standard Edition just to link and upgrade to your $120 [Edge of Darkness edition]? You’re just buying in to play your account on Steam at that point.”
“There’s droves of people who have been waiting for years to have a place to put their grievances where it might actually matter to do so,” suggested one player. “No doubt, the moment that players have the opportunity to leave a Steam review, they’re going to. However, you can’t leave a Steam review on a game you don’t own. Therefore, any of the many long-time players that have been repeatedly burned by [the developer] are not likely to spend any more money on his dogs**t. Therefore, the only reviews will be from new players that get the full 1.0 experience, without all the years of disappointment behind it.”
“I don’t get why people act surprised all of a sudden,” said someone else. “And knowing how toxic and hateful this community has become over the years, if they handed free keys to everyone, the reviews would instantly get thrown into a s**tstorm of hate even from people who haven’t played in a few years.”
Others are reminding those upset players that anyone can add non-Steam games to their Steam library, although, obviously, this is just a shortcut and doesn’t unlock any Steam features like achievements. The developer has yet to respond publicly to the backlash.
Players were similarly unhappy when July’s Hardcore Wipe introduced big changes to the game, buffing the challenge and removing quests and maps. This wipe was particularly brutal as Tarkov also now boasts slower progression and tougher difficulty, making it harder for players to recover their pre-wipe status and inventory.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
