Ex-Escape From Tarkov devs say their new shooter "won't be another clone lost in a gray zone," but don't want it labeled as an "'X' killer"

Rush is Real is the upcoming shooter from ex-Escape From Tarkov duo Dmitri Ogorodnikov and German Terekhov. Now flying under the Nomion Games banner, the pair are eager to ensure their big debut brings something fresh to the genre, while fixing some of its long-standing pain points. Though details are thin right now as the game is still in the prototyping stage, PCGamesN has had a chance to quiz the Nomion founders on how Rush is Real is shaping up so far.

Rush is Real may be in the fledgling stages of development, but Nomion has already made it crystal clear that it needs to avoid becoming another generic multiplayer game. Ogorodnikov has claimed that it’s “not just another shooter,” and I was keen to learn more about the studio’s vision throughout the prototyping process. Though Ogorodnikov can’t tell me exactly what Rush is Real will be, he clarifies what it won’t be.

“This [Rush is Real] definitely won’t be a strategy game,” Ogorodnikov jokes. “Seriously though – it won’t be a slow-paced game. It’s not an extraction shooter, but it’s also not a battle royale. It’s not the kind where everyone hides in bushes and corners waiting for someone to crack in the middle or end of the round.

“Rush is Real isn’t designed as a generator of random deaths,” he continues. “In our world, there’s no place for chaos beyond the player’s control or mechanics where luck beats skill. If you lose, it’s because of a tactical mistake or the opponent’s superior technique. Also, the game won’t be a sandbox without purpose. We’re not building a world just for the sake of it, where players have to entertain themselves in a void. Our approach demands structure, with a clear direction, climax, and ending. It’s not endless survival but disciplined, high-speed, focused action.

“This won’t be another clone lost in a gray zone overloaded with noise,” Ogorodnikov concludes. “We’re not making an amorphous game that can be confused with dozens of other tactical shooters where realism is mistaken for cluttered interfaces and unnecessary elements. We aim for simplicity – anything that doesn’t serve the game’s pace and clarity is ruthlessly cut.”

By the sounds of things, Rush is Real is going to blend the high-octane chaos of Call of Duty, and the measured tactical nuance required in FPS games like Escape From Tarkov and Valorant. On first thought, EFT Arena sounds like the closest comparison, but it is of course impossible to tell for sure at this point based on Ogorodnikov’s descriptions. The dev is deliberately vague, not only because Rush is Real is so early in its development cycle, but also because Nomion doesn’t want it “to get labeled early on as ‘X killer’ or a clone of ‘Y.'” From Ogorodnikov’s experience, these labels often do more harm than good, and I’m inclined to agree.

Considering Nomion’s Tarkov pedigree, I wondered if Rush is Real will pander more to a hardcore fanbase. It is, in Ogorodnikov’s words, a game where “every action matters,” and “inaction is deadly.” The truth, he says, is that Rush is Real “lies somewhere in the middle” between casual and die-hard. Ogorodnikov promises “a different experience; one that, according to our research, hasn’t been seen in modern shooters yet.” Should this ring true, then it’s all the more reason to hold off on pigeonholing Rush is Real, and let the devs continue to cook. Nomion’s already stressed that, while it’s willing to “ride the wave” of AI, “the finishing touch must always come from a human hand,” so I’m hopeful that, regardless of which form it takes, it won’t be riddled with AI slop.