Tarkov's New "Unheard Edition" is the Most Disrespectful Chain of Events in the Game's History.

What has transpired over the last 48 plus hours in the Tarkov community is nothing short of a disaster. With the reveal and release of their new edition for the game: the unheard edition, players are now being asked to spend an additional $100 to upgrade from Edge of Darkness, or an egregious $250 for the biggest and baddest version of the game if it’s your first time buying a copy of the game. For comparison, I’ve played league of legends since 2014, a free to play game where you can buy skins for the characters, and I’ve spent less than $250 on that game in a decade. And now BSG is asking new players to cough that up for items and bonuses that have gone past the point of cosmetic only. It’s a shame and an absolute disgrace to every single person who has supported the game with their own time and money. A flagrant disregard to the community as a whole, a slap in the face, and a harsh reminder that companies don’t owe you shit. True colors and intentions have been shown today. And the easiest way to speak against it is to not buy it. But let’s be real for a second: everyone that plays this game is a grown ass adult or at least I hope you are. What you do with your money is your choice to make and yours alone. Am I or should I talk shit to anyone who does decide to get this bigger version of the game? No. If you are financially sound and have the expendable income to do so, that’s your prerogative. Obviously, BSG needs the money more than you do, or at least that was the initial impression. They must be in more dire financial straits than we thought. Or they just want to nickel and dime us. Or they are just genuinely fucking stupid and don’t know how to add monetizable things to Tarkov that don’t ruin the balance of the game completely. I’ve given them enough benefits of the doubt, in the now will be 7 years I have known about this game. Here, it’s obvious they want to make money and are willing to gatekeep modes that everyone has asked for years to be added into the game. And rip assets from their engines store to make it feel more exclusive and cooler.

I think what makes me the most disappointed is that they couldn’t even wait until they finished the game to add stupid stuff like a radio that grants immunity from scavs shooting at you from 60 meters or more. Or a module in the hideout that lets your friends join your raid if you are in trouble. There isn’t anywhere on the purchase page that mentions these being offline only. No, it seems like these will be for live raids. It’s disappointing that we can’t get functional and compelling AI to fight against and that they have to be aim bots to be considered difficult. It’s a shame we might never get working audio in places where it’s do or die depending on what we hear. It’s a shame cheating is now being made easier if you are willing to fork over the cash to have more slots to sell on the flea market. BSG. Battle State Games. Nikita Buyanov. You’re better than this. Caving to the lowest common denominator for a quick buck. Instantly ruining the now almost 8-year relationship and repour with your community. I know working on this tirelessly day in and day out has burnt you guys out and then some. You wanted to make Russia 2028 but made Tarkov in the interim to fund that. And then Tarkov got too big for you to handle. I get it: you’re done. And yet you still made tons of awesome and interesting mechanics, bosses, maps and more. This game is a gold mine for incredible experiences and there is a reason why the game is held in such high regard. To the point that other developers and companies are trying to take lessons from you to make their game more interesting. And you’re willing to throw that all away for a new big pocket edition of Tarkov? Fuck you.

I will continue to play and talk about the game because I still enjoy it. There’s still plenty to go over and have conversations with. But I personally will not buy the Unheard edition of Tarkov. The pay to win components of it are just too blatant. This whole thing is also an admission of guilt on their end; basically, saying hey we don’t know how to solve some of our game's biggest problems. Or and probably worse, we don’t care to fix them in the first place. Now some people might say I’m making a big deal about this and am blowing it out of proportion. But we’ve been going down a slippery slope for a while now. Nikita has now gone back on his word many times. Arena must be a colossal failure if they are resorting to something so drastic. It makes me angry but also sad. A game I still love and still has some of the best elements of any first-person shooter out there is imploding as we speak. Who knows what’s going to happen. If they’ll double triple or quadruple down on this edition and their choices. But to everyone listening. If you want to have your voice heard and you don’t like this. Then don’t buy it. Again, I can’t and won’t stop you. Nor would I poke fun at anyone that did. Do with your money as you will. But I’d ask you to reconsider and use that $100 or $250 to buy potentially 3-5 steam games currently on your Wishlist right now. You might get more value out of that money than a knife, some items for stash and an armband.

In regard to videos about Tarkov. I still plan on making them. Conversations and discussion videos are what I want to focus on and maybe the occasional full raid if there is one that has some good fights and tells a better story. I don’t support what is happening. I don’t support what Nikita is saying both online and now in leaked interviews. His perception of the community has changed. He sees 1.0 as a goal that he will stop at nothing to reach. Even if it means burning down the trust and goodwill of the people that made the game what it is today. You can disagree with the artist and still appreciate their art. And that’s what I intend to do. People might not be okay with that. But for the time being, unless I want to pivot to other games, genres, topics and ideas, Tarkov is where I started. My most popular video is about old Tarkov. I have a lot to be thankful for because of this game. Maybe overtime I will slowly wane off the game, but I still enjoy it. Even if I won’t support the predatory monetization practices or the man spearheading them. Do with that what you will. Again, we’re all adults here. You’re free to make your own choices. And I have made mine. So, let’s keep things civil, shall we? I’ve been critical of BSG for years, and this is no different. Nikita has gone off the deep end; and it’s an insane fall from grace from years prior. We can boycott the game for sure. But honestly, it’s going to fall on deaf ears. The money has been made; people leaving in solidarity won’t do a ton for them. All we can do is voice our distaste with the decisions being made, the mentality being shown, and the disrespect being thrown at us. And this video is doing just that. To everyone that has made it this far, thank you. I know this is happening really fast, and something many of us love and cherish is being burned down literally right in front of us. There is only so much we, the community at large, can do. And sadly, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to work. The man himself has a goal and is going to see it through to the end. It’s a shame really. As the years went on, you see Nikita on their dev diaries and podcasts talking about the game; you can see the passion radiate from him. But I guess time has taken its toll. He’s tired, stressed, and just wants this whole thing to be over. It didn’t have to go down like this, Nikita. The man that just wanted to make a battle simulator in a hazardous environment, has been consumed by the very creation he brought into this world. And it sucks to see it all go down in real time.

Thank you very much for taking the time out of your day to watch this video, be sure to leave your thoughts down in the comment section below. Again, please keep it civil, we all want what’s best for Tarkov and yelling at each other, calling people shills doesn’t get us anywhere. Keep it constructive and be sure to subscribe for potentially more videos on a game that has, within the span of about 72 hours, ruined every single ounce and shred of goodwill and faith the community had for it. I hope to see you in future ones.