Escape from Tarkov developer Battlestate Games published the official 2018 roadmap, detailing their plans for the upcoming updates once the imminent Open Beta test goes live.

　　We already knew that the first-person online shooter would target hardcore gamers, but apparently the Russian studio is now aiming to introduce even more features to push Escape from Tarkov's focus on realism.

　　Below you can find an extensive overview of what's coming to Escape from Tarkov, though Battlestate Games also stressed how there are other features still being kept under wraps. On the other hand, they weren't coy about their goal to update Escape from Tarkov's engine to Unity 2018 as well as introducing graphics improvements such as updated lighting, animations, vegetation, shaders, post-processing effects. This should happen without affecting performance.

　　The list of innovations will be opened by the new location Interchange - very unlike rest of the maps so far, essentially the first modern, civilian location of Tarkov with no forests, fields, rural settlements or industrial parks, typical in other maps.

　　Further plans include the changes in the way weapon magazines are being loaded and unloaded with ammo. So, when in raid, loading every cartridge into the magazine will take time, and it can only be done in the inventory. Same goes for unloading of ammo from the magazine, though time required to unload one cartridge is less than time required to load it. Loading or unloading rate will be affected by the character health condition, skills and/or weapon mastering. Outside the raid, ammo will be loaded/unloaded immediately, and its number will always be determined precisely.

　　Over updates, the game is going to get special animations for more realistic use of medical supplies, food and other consumables in raid. Using weapons during the treatment or eating we become impossible. Another interesting addition shall appear for sale at the Therapist’s - stimulants and advanced medicines.

　　In the future the complete off-raid treatment and parameters recovery will happen either over a certain period of time, or through use of medical kits, food and water. Health rehabilitation rate will be closely connected to another major feature - Hideout and its management.

　　Another long-anticipated and particularly useful addition to the game are smoke grenades. They will be useful for creating smoke screens in dangerous situations. Under-barrel grenade launchers are also going to be added back into the game.

　　The developers plan to add a special kind of enemies - Scav bosses, each with unique appearance, gear and behavior. And, most importantly, players will be given an opportunity to uncover Personal quests. Every player will be able to conduct personal investigations that immediately reveal the pieces of game plot.

　　Soon, the player will have to monitor the quality of ammo and condition of the weapons, and deal with troubleshooting more often, fixing jamming, misalignment and misfires.

　　Traders, in addition to selling weapons and various items, will provide a special kind of service - Change of the character appearance. Thanks to this, you will have the opportunity to pick the camo more adequate to the particular task, daytime and terrain. Also, the development team will continue to add new faction-specific skills which be accessible to players only of specific PMCs.

　　All players will gain an ability to put their own goods up for sale at the Flea market. This feature is also related to the Handbook (all examined items will be recorded there), Search system (that will make possible, for instance, finding all the sales associated with AK-74N) and Kits (saving customized weapon kits, ability to share them and to quickly purchase missing parts).

　　Exits from locations are going to get new types as well. There will be locations with no permanent exits, where you will need to use the flares to enable the extraction, thus attracting attention of everybody in the vicinity. Such extractions will need to be purchased in advance, before the start of the raid.

　　The developers are also going to add the ability to communicate with voice in the raid, with positioning and range of hearing. That’s how Radios will work later on.

　　Finally, the development of a separate game mode, Arena, is still underway. The studio promises that it will feature a lot of interesting inventions, competitive spirit and excitement. A detailed teaser material about this mode is to be released later.

　　Moreover, on top of that, there will be more new weapons and a load of customizations for them, including functional two-barrel shotguns and revolvers. New equipment includes: 10+ helmets, body armor, new tactical vests, other headgear, glasses, balaclavas, headsets.