How to download and play Escape from Tarkov

Eli Becht
escape from tarkov

Escape from Tarkov is rapidly gaining popularity, and if you want to hop on the bandwagon, here’s how you can do so.

Whether you’ve been watching a streamer like Michael ‘shroud‘ Grzesiek or Jaryd ‘summit1g‘ Lazar playing Tarkov, or if you’re just wondering what all the hype is about, now is the perfect time to jump into the game.

The shooter has actually been available since 2016, but in early 2020, the game is now as popular as it’s ever been.

Battlestate Games
Escape from Tarkov has been dominating Twitch viewership and getting new players into the game.

For the time being, it’s only available on PC, but not on the storefronts you’d typically expect to see it. With most games released nowadays, you’d expect to see a big title released on either Steam or the Epic Games Store, but it’s actually part of its own launcher entirely.

How to download Escape from Tarkov

To play EFT, you’ll need to download the official launcher which can be done from the game’s website.

Once you have the game purchased on your account, all you’ll need to do is log in to download the launcher and you’ll be all set to start playing.

While it’s not as convenient as Steam where all of your games are in the same library, it’s not too bad as you can just keep a desktop icon ready for Tarkov.

Will Escape from Tarkov come to consoles?

Currently, EFT remains a PC exclusive, but that doesn’t mean it can’t come to consoles eventually.

With the next-gen consoles right around the corner, an Xbox Series X and PS5 release could definitely be in the cards, but nothing definitive has been announced yet.

Sony
The official PlayStation 5 logo revealed at CES 2020.

For a game as complex as Tarkov is, it could end up being very difficult to get everything running smoothly on consoles. It’s also difficult to imagine how the controls would be mapped to a controller as you’ll very quickly run out of buttons.

With that said, we’ve seen seemingly complex games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds eventually make their way over to consoles. Many players thought the looting system especially wouldn’t work with a controller, but it ended up being a solid translation from PC.

Making a move to consoles would do wonders for the playerbase, so it’s definitely something the developers have to at least discuss as the game continues to grow.