Escape From Tarkov studio head doubles down on belief new mode is not DLC, but says players can have it when the game is done

Escape From Tarkov’s developer has responded to players having conniptions due to the release of a new $250 Unheard edition of the game. In an update shared on Reddit, Battlestate Games studio head doubled down on their view that a new co-op PvE mode is not DLC, but does say that other players can have it when Escape From Tarkov is finished… whenever that is.

The above linked story has the context, but in brief: some players previously purchased a $150 Edge Of Darkness edition which was advertised as including access to all future DLC at no extra cost. Those players are upset that they now do not get access to the new co-op PvE mode unless they purchase an upgrade to the Unheard edition. Battlestate say that the mode isn’t included in the Edge Of Darkness edition because it’s not actually DLC.

“First of all, PvE gamemode this is not DLC. DLC in our understanding is the major additions to the game, including various functionality and content that are released after the official release of the game as a themed DLC pack (Scav Life DLC for example, which will add a lot of new mechanics and content for Scav gameplay and leveling),” writes the studio head in a statement on Reddit.

Secondly, he goes on to explain, their servers could not currently support all Edge Of Darkness owners having access to the new PvE mode.

“We observe your dissatisfaction and have 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,” he explains. “Now you have the opportunity to test this mode by purchasing the Unheard edition of the game, or upgrade to this version. We also decided to give a 50% discount when upgrading to the Unheard version from the EoD version.”

So, in other words: you don’t get this because it’s not DLC; also we couldn’t give it to you right now anyway, because our servers wouldn’t cope; but also, since you’re mad, you can get it for free when the game is finished and our server capacity increases, whenever that is; also, we’ve introduced some new discounts if you do want to get access to it now.

You can read the responses from Reddit users yourself. They’re not happy, to put it mildly.