Escape From Tarkov’s Steam release will require buying the game again

Escape from Tarkov, known as one of the most hardcore extraction shooters, is finally coming to Steam. After years in perpetual beta, the highly anticipated 1.0 release is set for November. While you can already wishlist the game on Steam, it’s not available for purchase yet. However, longtime Tarkov players hoping to consolidate their library or use Steam’s social features will be disappointed: you’ll have to buy the game again on Steam rather than simply linking your existing Battlestate Games account.

This situation is typical for games that launch on Steam after being available elsewhere, like Final Fantasy XIV or Star Wars Outlaws, which also don’t support “cross-buy.” Still, many fans have expressed frustration on social media, with some calling it greedy and predicting negative reviews upon release.

According to Escape from Tarkov’s official FAQ, to play via Steam, you’ll need to link your Battlestate Games account to your Steam account. If you’ve previously purchased a higher-tier edition of the game, buying the base edition on Steam will automatically grant you access to the better version once the accounts are linked. So, if playing on Steam is important, those with premium editions only need to buy the base edition on Steam.

The FAQ also reveals other potentially disappointing news: no support for Steam Deck or Family Sharing is planned. Plus, the system requirements listed on Steam are quite demanding, recommending a whopping 64GB of RAM and an Nvidia 4070 GPU.

Escape from Tarkov’s main extraction mode will officially exit beta on November 15, 2025, after nearly ten years of development. The game’s core loop revolves around entering maps, looting, surviving PvP encounters against both bots and players, and extracting safely.

In addition to the main mode, there’s EFT: Arena, a standalone competitive mode released two years ago. Arena shares account stats with Tarkov but is currently available only on the Epic Games Store and has no Steam listing.

While having to repurchase the game on Steam might be frustrating, players can still add Escape from Tarkov as a non-Steam game to their Steam launcher. Still, given that linking accounts carries over premium purchases, many wonder why Battlestate Games doesn’t allow existing owners to access the base version on Steam simply by downloading the launcher through the platform.