On the 15th, Escape from Tarkov finally launched in its official version on Steam. While it predictably climbed to the top tiers of the global Steam charts, the move has reignited age-old server woes, leaving the game languishing with a 'Mostly Negative' user rating.

Let’s be honest: Escape from Tarkov has been in a 'beta' state for roughly eight years since 2017. Regardless of the genre's inherent appeal or its minute details, the game has been plagued by dodgy servers since day one. If you get kicked while playing, your character remains vulnerable in-game—and since this is an extraction shooter, dying means losing every bit of gear you’ve painstakingly gathered. It’s a brutal penalty for a technical hiccup. Even after introducing a queue system, players have been caught in a vicious cycle of bugs and crashes, often getting booted right back into the waiting line.

Prior to the official launch, the community was desperate for the developers to fix these long-standing server issues before piling on more content. Despite the hype pushing the game to the top of the Steam charts on launch day, the servers collapsed the moment the Steam version went live. To make matters worse, the official website suffered too, with failures in syncing Steam accounts with Battlestate Games profiles.

With no clear end to the server instability in sight, Escape from Tarkov’s Steam user reviews are currently 'Mostly Negative' (out of 17,395 players, only 30% are positive). Reviewers are rightfully pointing out that the game is virtually unplayable despite being 'officially' released, with many venting frustration over being unable to refund the game after crossing the two-hour threshold. Furthermore, for a community that has bottled up complaints for years without a proper outlet, this Steam release has become a floodgate for long-held grievances.

Nikita Buyanov, the game’s director, claimed that website traffic surged tenfold, with authentication and launcher loads jumping fourfold, and assured that they are working hard to patch the mess. However, as of the 17th, the servers remain as shaky as ever.

Elsewhere on the Steam charts, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 landed in 2nd place after its launch on the 14th, though it is currently sitting at 'Mixed' due to complaints regarding the campaign and the use of AI. Meanwhile, Anno 117: Pax Romana has also slid to 'Mixed' reviews, with players citing optimization issues and unstable multiplayer.

In the top 20 for daily peak Concurrent Players, 'Where Winds Meet' reached 8th place with 193,860 players since its service began on the 15th. Arc Raiders set a new record with 481,966 concurrent players, a surge that some speculate is fueled by players fleeing the mess that is Escape from Tarkov.

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