Escape from Tarkov has built its reputation as one of the most intense multiplayer extraction FPS games around. Developed by Battlestate Games, it drops players into high-stakes raids where the action blends PVP and PVE combat. The goal is simple in theory but brutal in practice: survive, scavenge, and make it out with valuable loot.
During a raid, players can discover a huge range of items, including firearms, armor, food, water, and other valuable gear. Loot can be found by searching the map or by taking it from other raiders, which is often where Tarkov’s best (and most painful) stories come from. Once you’ve collected enough, the pressure ramps up as you head for designated extraction points—because in extraction shooters, the real win isn’t what you find, it’s what you successfully bring home.
After years of anticipation, Escape from Tarkov finally hit full release in 2025 and also arrived on Steam, where it currently sits at a Mixed rating with more than 20,000 positive reviews. That reception reflects what longtime players already know: Tarkov can be thrilling and uniquely rewarding, but it can also be unforgiving, demanding, and polarizing.
Now, the creator behind Tarkov is pointing fans toward a new battleground. On February 1, Nikita Buyanov, head of Battlestate Games, teased a brand-new project called COR3, described as a futuristic sci-fi shooter set on Mars. The reveal comes via a teaser trailer that focuses more on atmosphere than gameplay, but it provides plenty for fans to dissect.
The trailer opens with a lone survivor moving through the ruins of what looks like a small town or city. As the camera pulls back, more abandoned settlements come into view, connected by a shattered highway that hints at a larger civilization now in collapse. The shot continues expanding outward until the full scale of the setting becomes clear: the red planet itself, seemingly recovering from a catastrophic, planet-wide disaster.
Then the imagery goes even bigger. A massive space station orbits Mars, accompanied by multiple satellites. As the camera keeps zooming out, a dense debris field appears around the planet, resembling the aftermath of an enormous space battle. The teaser closes on a grim detail: a dead cosmonaut in a space suit, still clutching a gun, paired with a cheeky message aimed at whoever—or whatever—killed him.
For now, COR3 remains a mystery in terms of mechanics. The teaser reveals little gameplay, but the tone, isolation, and survival-focused imagery already feel like they could resonate with fans of extraction shooters. Naturally, speculation is already heating up as players try to guess whether COR3 will follow a raid-and-extraction structure, lean more into narrative survival, or introduce a new twist entirely.
A bit more clarity comes from the game’s website, which adds backstory to the setting. According to the premise, about 200 years ago humanity faced total mutual destruction. Civilization survived only because of an organization calling itself the Core, which gathered what remained of humankind and set out to “turn back the tide of destruction” by uniting world governments. It’s a foundation that sets COR3 up for faction conflict, high-tech power struggles, and a larger mystery behind what shattered Mars and littered its orbit with wreckage.
Interestingly, COR3’s appearance also lines up with fresh talk about what’s next for Escape from Tarkov. Battlestate Games has discussed future plans that include new maps and new mechanics—such as being able to shoot locks off doors—as well as a fun collaboration connected to Escape from Duckov, a Tarkov parody created by other developers.
Whether COR3 becomes the next big sci-fi extraction shooter or something entirely different, the teaser makes one thing clear: Battlestate’s signature approach to tension, survival, and immersive worlds may be heading into space—and fans are already watching closely for what comes next.
