While all Extraction shooters are rapidly losing players, Escape from Tarkov is showing steady growth. This is due to the release of patch 1.1.0.0 with the Kord Breach seasonal system and a free battle pass, as well as a loyal audience that keeps the game afloat even in difficult times.
The Extraction shooter genre, considered one of the industry’s most important discoveries just a couple of years ago, is currently experiencing hard times. Projects are losing audiences one after another—sometimes by several times, sometimes by tens of percent. But among this series of declines, there is one notable exception. Escape from Tarkov, defying the general trend, is not just holding its own—it’s growing.
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Extraction Shooters Are Rapidly Losing Audiences
Let’s start with the main thing: the numbers don’t lie. Almost all major representatives of the genre are showing a steady decline.
ARC Raiders is one of the most high-profile projects of recent times. Its peak occurred in November 2025, when almost 482,000 people were playing the game concurrently. In January 2026, online play was still hovering around 466,000. Then came a crash: February—375,000, March—252,000, April—154,000, and May—122,000. Now the numbers are even lower—daily online play has fallen by approximately 80% from January levels.
Marathon is experiencing a similar story. The game launched in March 2026 with a peak of 88,337 concurrent players. By July, the average online play had dropped to 4,749, a month-over-month decline of almost 60%. At the time of writing, the game had just over 4,000 players.
Mistfall Hunter is a recent example. The game launched on July 29, 2026, and launched with a peak of 44,472 players. Just a few days later, the player base has already begun to dwindle.
Escape from Tarkov — An Exception to the Rule
Against this backdrop, Tarkov’s performance appears almost anomalous. According to Steam Charts, in May 2026, the game’s average online player count was 12,779, with a peak of 28,503. In June, the average online player count rose to 16,986—an increase of +32.92%—and the peak jumped to 31,530.
And on August 3, 2026, the developers released patch 1.1.0.0, and online player counts began to rise again. At the time of writing, the game had approximately 19,600 players, with a daily peak of over 31,000.
For comparison, here are the competitors’ stats:
Why Is Tarkov Growing While Others Are Declining?
What’s the secret? There are several answers.
First, a dedicated audience. Tarkov has developed an extremely loyal community that supports the game even during lean periods. These aren’t just players—they’re fans willing to tolerate bugs, difficulties, and wait years for the developers to deliver what they promised. Newcomers simply don’t have that kind of “credibility.”
The second is patch 1.1.0.0. The update, released on August 3 at 9:00 AM Moscow time, was a turning point. The main addition is the first season, called Kord Breach, dedicated to the Black Division faction. Along with it, the game now features:
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Seasonal system – the game now has full seasons with their own content.
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Seasonal characters – the ability to create a separate character for seasonal activities.
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Free battle pass – no donations, just for playing.
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Reworked quest progression.
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New mechanics for newcomers – the game has become more friendly to those just starting out.
The update installation took 6 to 8 hours – the scale speaks for itself.
Third, there are big plans for the future. The developers have already announced:
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Console version – they are looking for a partner for a port.
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Scav Life DLC – a major expansion planned for late 2026.
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Rework of the “Lighthouse” location.
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New weapons and equipment.
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Transition to the Unity 6 engine.
What’s Next?
While competitors are losing players by the tens of thousands, Tarkov stands firm. The Kord Breach season has just begun, the free battle pass is already live, and there’s even more content to come. For players who’ve been wanting to return or try the game for the first time, now is the perfect time.
But for other extraction shooters, things aren’t looking so rosy. ARC Raiders continues to lose its audience, Marathon is nearly empty, and Mistfall Hunter began to decline just a week after its release. The market is overheated, players are tired of the same old games, and only those games with a truly dedicated community and ongoing development will survive.
Tarkov has built such a foundation. And it looks like it’s not stopping.
