Battlestate Games boss Nikita Buyanov told Insider Gaming he believes the console version of Tarkov will be announced in 2027, probably early in the year, but it won't be ready to play next year. And he still wants it to break your controller.
The hardest shooter on PC may be getting closer to consoles. Escape from Tarkov’s console version is expected to be officially announced in 2027, according to Battlestate Games studio head Nikita Buyanov, who told Insider Gaming he believes the reveal will come next year, most likely early in the year.
He was just as clear that a reveal isn’t a release. “The console version, it won’t be ready next year, for sure. But for next year will be the announcement, 100%, I believe that. I guess the announcement will be early next year; I believe so,” Buyanov said, in comments reported by Insider Gaming. He also said Battlestate is “really close” to finding the partner it needs to handle the port.
EXCLUSIVE: Escape from Tarkov's Console Version Will Be Announced in 2027 https://t.co/5f6A3B5DKU
, Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson_) November 12, 2026
How we got here
Tarkov on console has been a long, slow tease. Buyanov first mentioned “the console version” in a recap video after Tokyo Game Show 2025, according to Insider Gaming, weeks before the game finally hit 1.0 on Steam on November 15, 2025, after years in beta. Later, Insider Gaming reported that a May TarkovTV showcase confirmed the port was still in development and that Battlestate was talking to multiple companies about bringing the game to PlayStation and Xbox. Players even found retro console references on the Icebreaker map, as Insider Gaming reported in June. Now, a year after 1.0, Buyanov has given Insider Gaming a window for when he believes the official reveal will come.
Not a lite version
The big question has always been whether consoles get a watered-down Tarkov. In an earlier Insider Gaming interview, Buyanov said the plan is “the same experience for the consoles, so there won’t be any kind of aim assist, any simplifiying of the gaming features,” and that he wants “the true hardcore experience that will break their controllers.” He named controls as the main challenge, since Tarkov leans on inventory management, health systems and a mountain of keybinds.
Full hardcore Tarkov on Xbox, no aim assist. You in?
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What it means for Xbox players
Xbox players have been waiting a long time to get a real shot at the game that helped define the modern extraction shooter. If Buyanov is right about an early 2027 announcement, we could finally see how Battlestate fits all those controls onto a pad, and which partner is doing the work. The flip side is honesty about timing: if it won’t be playable in 2027, as he told Insider Gaming, the earliest realistic window looks like 2028. That is our reading of his comments, not a date Battlestate has set. If the studio actually delivers full Tarkov with no aim assist, Xbox and PlayStation would get a hardcore shooter nobody else on console has, and PC players would keep the original they’ve been grinding for a decade.
Sources
- Insider Gaming: EXCLUSIVE: Escape from Tarkov’s Console Version Will Be Announced in 2027
- Tom Henderson on X: Tarkov console version will be announced in 2027
- Insider Gaming: Escape from Tarkov’s Long-Awaited Console Version is Coming
- Insider Gaming: Nikita Tells Us What He Wants from Tarkov on Console
- Insider Gaming: Three New Escape from Tarkov Games Are In the Works
- Insider Gaming: Tarkov Console Edition ‘Hint’ Found on Icebreaker Map
Image: Battlestate Games
