A new Escape From Tarkov collab with the 'rival' that stole its Steam launch thunder adds one of Arc Raiders' best bits

What does Arc Raiders have that Escape From Tarkov doesn’t? The answer that first comes to mind will likely be different for everyone, from its much higher focus on co-operative play to the presence of titanic robot enemies. But Battlestate’s iconic extraction FPS, which had a huge influence in making the genre what it is today, has also been missing one of the most beloved parts of Arc Raiders: ducks. Well, that’s all about to change now, and it’s thanks to a collaboration with its most unlikely ‘rival.’

Both sides had been teasing it in recent weeks, but now the ‘Escape From Tarkov x Escape From Duckov’ event is official. The single-player, top-down survival shooter might have been rather cheeky with its naming scheme, putting itself in the search results of anyone who was looking for its more famous namesake’s arrival on Steam, but it delivered in the gameplay department.

The result was a rousing success story that saw Duckov soar to 300,000 active players, and it was still pulling six-figure highs when the Escape From Tarkov 1.0 launch arrived to a peak of just 47,000. There were other factors at play, of course, with a large percentage of Tarkov’s playerbase already embedded in the standalone launcher and with little incentive to switch over to Valve’s store given the requirement to buy the game again. Yet the whole ordeal certainly put Team Soda on the map.

Nevertheless, it seems there was no bad blood between Team Soda and Battlestate Games. Escape From Duckov has now confirmed that its first in-game crossover event begins on Tuesday February 10. It’ll see players diving into a brand-new map, where you’ll encounter duck-ified incarnations of some of Tarkov’s most notorious foes, such as Scav brothers Tagilla and Killa.

The Tarkov-themed map will arrive alongside a larger update that promises to include a new mount system and fresh festival content, so it’ll be a good time to dip back into Escape From Duckov if you’ve put it down since launch, or want to try it for the first time.

The crossover is also making its way to Escape From Tarkov. Battlestate is being rather more tight-lipped about what we can actually expect and when, although it did already deliver some early rewards with the code ‘WILDHUNT.’ All we’ve been shown since is the image below, featuring a Duckov-like character and the words ‘Wanna have a party?’ The caption simply reads, ‘Coming soon.’ Perhaps it’ll arrive at the same time, but we’ll have to wait and see.

As for what Tarkov’s side of the puzzle will entail, I’m quietly hoping it’s something more than just a collectible figurine. There’s naturally some caution among the community that anything more directly gameplay-driven (such as a duck outfit) could be a dangerous step towards Call of Duty-style skins that detract from the extraction shooter’s more ‘serious’ and realistic look. But what about a rubber duck decoy throwable? Personally, I’d be here for that.

Whatever we end up getting, realizing that the collab brings Tarkov up to speed with the rubber duck-hoarding meta that Arc Raiders has recently devolved into has already put a smile on my face. Sometimes it’s the little things that bring you the most joy.