Escape from Tarkov Console Version Officially Confirmed

After years of uncertainty, Escape from Tarkov is officially making its way to consoles.

The reveal came from Battlestate Games during a recap of their Tokyo Game Show 2025 showcase, where Chief Operating Officer Nikita Buyanov confirmed that a console version is now in active development.

The announcement comes as a surprise to long-time players, especially after Buyanov’s joking claim earlier this year that the game would hit the Game Boy before any console port. That comment, as it turns out, didn’t age well.

Although no specific platforms were named, it’s safe to assume the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will be the main targets. The timing makes sense too, with Tarkov’s long-awaited 1.0 launch set for 15 November 2025, the studio appears to be planning a broader rollout shortly after the PC release.

Having covered Tarkov’s development for years, I can say this is one of the most requested expansions of the project since its first alpha days. Console players have been locked out of the experience for too long, and now it finally seems within reach.

Alongside the console news, Buyanov also unveiled Tarkov’s first post-launch DLC, titled Scav Life.

The name alone tells a lot. For anyone familiar with the game’s lore, the Scavs are the scavengers who operate on the outskirts of Tarkov’s collapsing society, surviving through grit, barter, and opportunism.

Focusing an expansion around them could be a bold step in fleshing out the moral and economic layers of Tarkov’s ecosystem. Buyanov mentioned that development on Scav Life will only start after the 1.0 launch, suggesting a release window in the second half of 2026 at the earliest.

Back in March this year, the scav system got a major overhaul following player feedback.

At the Tokyo Game Show, Battlestate also showcased parts of the Port map, an endgame area built for high-stakes progression. The studio described this as a glimpse into the final trials players must overcome to “escape the city.” These endgame tasks will serve as narrative and skill-based tests, and completing them under specific conditions will unlock four different endings.

It’s a clever structure that gives meaning to Tarkov’s notorious difficulty. Rather than being punishing for the sake of it, each trial now represents mastery, and for the first time, a proper conclusion for those who’ve survived since the game’s earliest beta days.

Buyanov also confirmed that major post-launch events, a battle pass system, and new arena modes are planned. The arena content shown at TGS will act as both a competitive offshoot and a testing ground for gameplay systems that may later integrate into the main Tarkov experience.

I see this as a smart move, because by isolating experimental modes, Battlestate can test balancing and performance without disrupting the core game.

Beyond updates and DLC, the developer has even more ambitious plans. Several spin-off projects set in the Tarkov universe are now in pre-production, each exploring different perspectives and genres.

While Buyanov was careful not to label them as sequels, he did say these games will expand the lore and longevity of the IP, giving players new ways to engage with the same world.

It’s a move that mirrors how franchises like Metro and Stalker built out their ecosystems, and for Tarkov, it feels like the natural evolution after nearly a decade in development.

In many ways, this marks a turning point for Escape from Tarkov. The 1.0 release is not the end but the foundation of a much larger roadmap that stretches across platforms, game modes, and new stories.

Battlestate’s confidence in scaling the project is clear, and while Buyanov admitted there are still challenges ahead, he described the future as “complex but achievable.” For a game that began as a niche survival shooter, Tarkov’s next chapter looks set to define what post-launch expansion really means.