Escape From Tarkov Data Breaks Down the PvP versus PvE Debate

Extraction shooters have always been a hot topic, with Battlestate
Games’
Escape From Tarkov
centering a lot of those discussions given its status as the first true
modern extraction shooter.

The genre has diversified quite a bit since the glory days of 2017, and
the conversation has evolved with it. Before, the argument was whether
there were too many extraction shooters in development, but recent big
names like
ARC Raiders
and Marathon have
created a civil war within the genre.

The two warring factions are the traditionalists, who believe extraction
shooters are only from the Extractia region of France and have unlimited
PvP, and the PvE crowd, represented perfectly by chill groups like
Dads of Marathon.

Battlestate Games boss Nikita Buyanov took to social media to share some
data from Escape From Tarkov since
its release a year ago, and explains why the numbers don’t tell the full story.

The Tortoise and the Hare

According to Buyanov, the current player base in Escape From Tarkov is divided as follows:

15% of users play the seasonal PvP content, introduced after the 1.0
launch
25% of users have stayed in the regular PvP mode, which has run since
the game’s first public tests a decade ago
60% of users play the PvE mode, introduced in 2024

In the particular case of Escape From Tarkov, the PvE majority is made
even more impressive when you realize that this is a paid add-on to the
game, unlike PvE modes in most other extraction shooters. The PvE Zone DLC
retails on Steam for $29.99, with fairly modest discounts of up to 15%
during seasonal promotions.

At face value, the numbers seem to make a pretty good case for PvE
becoming a mainstay in any extraction shooter, and arguably even most
live-service shooters. At the same time, Buyanov cautions that this does
not mean extraction shooters like Escape From Tarkov will ever stop being
PvP-first affairs.

In
a follow-up post, the director explains that this perceived PvP slump is “a natural part
of Tarkov’s gameplay cycle. PvP players burn through content much faster,
then mostly return for events while waiting for the next season.” The game
has been fairly consistent in adding varied, occasionally wacky events
every couple of months, bringing back veteran players (and sometimes
driving away new ones due to difficulty spikes).

In contrast, PvE Players tend to maintain “relatively steady activity
throughout the wipe,” playing Tarkov at their own pace without the FOMO
that permeates the game’s PvP side after each wipe.

Nikita Buyanov goes on to say that using a snapshot of the player split to
claim that PvP has gone out of fashion “is simply absurd,” reiterating
that “Tarkov was ALWAYS about PvP and will always be,” in spite of the
mental health benefits of playing PvE without worrying about dying to the
sweatiest player you know every time you load into the game.

The Future of PvE

Armed characters advance through a colorful corridor in Marathon

As things stand today, there’s little chance of PvE modes going away in
extraction shooters. The steadier, more predictable gameplay patterns make
this audience more reliable, whereas PvP tends to be more mercurial, being
especially sensitive to balancing changes and progression upgrades that
affect competitiveness in some way or another.

Earlier this month, ARC Raiders boss Patrick
Soderlund told Insider Gaming
that 50% of the game’s population flocked to the PvE test that recently
took place. Bungie has also hopped on the casual-friendly train, with
Marathon’s permanent PvE modes getting plenty of love.

I’m curious to see renewed statistics from Escape From Tarkov once Season
2 drops, currently planned to come out on December 7, if the in-game
counter is any indication. The game is currently running its Halloween
event.

Escape From Tarkov is available for PC via Steam, the Epic Games Store,
and the Battlestate Games official store.

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