In a landmark moment for one of gaming's most punishing titles, a player has finally achieved the seemingly impossible: they have escaped from Tarkov. This historic feat comes with the full launch of Escape From Tarkov, eight years after it first entered open beta, and marks the first completion of its notoriously difficult new story campaign.
A Milestone Eight Years in the Making
The hardcore extraction shooter Escape From Tarkov officially launched version 1.0 on November 15, 2025, finally graduating from its lengthy open beta phase on PC. The update brought the game to Steam for the first time and introduced a major new feature: a non-linear story campaign with the ultimate goal of, as the title promises, escaping the war-torn city.
Given the game's legendary reputation for brutal, unforgiving difficulty, it was anticipated that the campaign would be a formidable challenge. This proved correct, as for weeks, no player could see it through to the end. That changed when popular streamer Tigz managed the incredible task, broadcasting his successful run live on Twitch for the world to witness.
The Gruelling Final Challenge on Terminal
The campaign's final mission is set on a new map called Terminal, described by the community as deviously designed. To reach the ending, a player must navigate this area under extreme pressure. The map features several punishing conditions:
- Only a single extraction zone is available.
- It is densely populated with aggressive AI-controlled enemies.
- No other human players are present for support.
- The player begins the mission with no equipment whatsoever.
Tigz's tense, successful extraction was captured in his Twitch VOD. Viewers watched as his character boarded a boat and fled the city moments before a nuclear detonation obliterated it. The streamer himself remained visibly on edge throughout the concluding cutscenes, seemingly in disbelief at his own accomplishment.
Community Elation and Developer Recognition
The reaction from the Escape From Tarkov community was one of unanimous celebration. Fans flooded chat with messages of congratulations, with many simply typing 'CINEMA' in awe of the dramatic finale. On the game's subreddit, the top comment joked, "What a madlad! Now he never has to play this again and can start enjoying life."
The achievement garnered official recognition. Both the official Escape From Tarkov X account and the game's director, Nikita Buyanov, acknowledged Tigz as the first player to escape. However, Buyanov added a significant caveat: Tigz had only unlocked one of four possible endings, and it was reportedly the second-worst conclusion.
Buyanov promised that the first player to discover the best ending would "definitely have something special from me." He had previously suggested that this optimal ending is so arduous that perhaps only 20% of players will ever see it, highlighting the campaign's designed longevity and extreme challenge.
This historic moment solidifies Escape From Tarkov's position as a pinnacle of the extraction shooter genre, a title where victory is never guaranteed and true success is a rare commodity to be celebrated by all.
